


I Have Loved You Since You Were 18

by Legends_Never_Die



Series: Teenage Spencer Reid [2]
Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Animal Death, Drug Use, Drug Withdrawal, Foyet, Hospitals, Hurt Spencer Reid, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Panic Attacks, Protective Aaron Hotchner, Protective Derek Morgan, Protectiveness, Sad, Sad Spencer Reid, Sexual Assault, Stabbing, Stalking, Younger Spencer Reid, season four, season three
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-15
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-13 13:08:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 27
Words: 30,155
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28778802
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Legends_Never_Die/pseuds/Legends_Never_Die
Summary: Teenage Spencer is now legal but his problems are far from over.He still has to deal with the effects of his drug addiction, his abusive ex-foster father, relationship problems with his boyfriend, and an unsub set on ruining Aaron Hotchner.---Sequel to "He's just a little bit older"Title from One Direction 18
Relationships: Aaron Hotchner/Spencer Reid
Series: Teenage Spencer Reid [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2109945
Comments: 342
Kudos: 227





	1. Chapter 1

“There have been three shootings so far in New York. No connection between victimology and no evidence left behind.” Straus’s voice came through the phone.

“We’ll be there in ten.” Hotch said, already packing his go-bag.

“And how is that young agent on your team? I was told he had the flu. Is he feeling better?”

Hotch looked over to Spencer who for one looked like a normal teenager as he cuddled Walt on the couch and watched some National Parks documentary. He was wearing one of Hotch’s t-shirts that was too bit for him, and a pair Morgan’s sweats, also too big. He had said wearing other people’s clothes helped him feel safe. And more importantly it helped him in the process of staying clean.

“He’s doing alright. I’m not sure if he will be well enough to travel though.” This caught Reid’s attention. He whipped his head over to look at his boyfriend who he had deduced was talking about him.

“Alright just keep me in the loop.” Hotch’s boss said.

“Will do. Goodbye.”

“Who was that? Straus? Do we have a case? I’m coming with you.” Spencer asked, sliding across the wood floor in his mismatched socks.

“It seems like you answered your own questions.” Hotch said stepping forward and pulling Spencer into his arms.

“So I can come?”

“No.”

“But why?” Spencer said, pulling away with a huff. “I haven’t had any dilaudid in five days and according to the New Medical Journal that is when the worst of the withdrawal symptoms take place. And my cravings aren’t even as strong anymore.”

“I distinctly remember you throwing up for three hours last night and threatening to burn down the house if I didn’t let you have the drugs.” Hotch said. It wasn’t meant as an insult, just a fact. An accurate reflection of where Spencer was at.

“But think of how much worse it would be for me to be alone.” Spencer said softly. “I don’t trust myself alone for 5 minutes let alone multiple days.” 

“I suppose your right” Hotch admitted. “But you aren’t allowed in the field. There is no room for negotiation on that.”

“Alright.” Spencer nodded. That was fair enough.

“Now go pack your go back” Aaron smiled, placing a soft kiss on his hair. While Spencer had been recovering, he had stopped fixing his hair in the morning. As a result, it was no longer combed straight but was instead puffing up and a rung of messy curls. Hotch liked it more than he would ever admit.

\--

“Hey Pretty Boy!” Morgan said running up to Reid and pulling his off his feet into a hug the second he and Hotch entered the conference room of the BAU.

“Put me down Morgan!” Spencer laughed as the much taller man spun him around.

JJ walked over to Hotch who was watching the interaction with amusement. “Are you sure he should be back at work so soon? An addiction like his can take years to overcome and he’s only been on leave for 5 days.”

“I know.” Hotch replied, not taking his eyes off the teen who was now laughing as he struggled to get out of the playful headlock his ‘older brother’ had him in. “But I can’t take time off and he can’t stay here alone. This is a big case. We all just need to keep an eye on him.”

“Ok ok you win!” Spencer yelped when Derek switched his mode of torture to tickling his sides.

“Leave him alone Morgan” Hotch said sternly though there was a slight smile on his face as he walked to his place at the head of the table.

“Yeah. Leave me alone Morgan.” Spencer repeated with a teasing smile on his face.

“I’ll get you back Baby Boy. Just wait.” Morgan said shaking a finger at him.

“We will be heading to New York. There have been three shootings so far with no evidence or leads to the unsub. We are being called to figure out if it is a single person or a group and develop a profile.” Hotch said. “We will be working directly with the NYPD. In addition to that we have a new, technically old, member returning to the team.”

“A new profiler?” Spencer asked.

“And old profiler. One of the first actually.” A new voice came from the door. Everyone turned to see a well-dressed Italian man with a neatly trimmed goatee.

“Everyone this is-”

“David Rossi!” Spencer said, jumping to his feel. There was a layer of awe reflected in his eyes as though he was meeting some sort of celebrity. Well, in his eyes, he was. “I’m a huge fan of your books! I’ve read all of them! I first wanted to be a profiler after I read your book about the Westfeild Sniper!” He gushed walking over to him.

“Thank you very much kiddo. What would your name be?” Rossi seemed amused by the puppy of a person standing before him.

“S-Spencer Reid! But everyone calls me Reid. Some people call me Spencer. Or Spence. Morgan calls me Pretty Boy or Boy Wonder sometimes but it’s not my favorite thing. But you can call me that if you want! You can call me whatever you want!” Spencer continued running his mouth getting redder and redder with embarrassment by the second.

“I’ve never heard you talk this much. And that’s saying a lot” Morgan said after a moment of silence.

“He seems a little starstruck” Garcia added with a teasing smile.

“Actually, loss of verbal conscience and sweat a normal reaction to meeting one’s hero. In fact, there is a chemical reaction in the brain that sends hormones-”

“Wheels up in 20.” Hotch cut him off with a chuckle. He knew Spencer would be embarrassed later at his rambling and decided to stop him before he dug himself a deeper hole.

Everyone grabbed their files and headed to their desks to grab everything they would need for the case.

“He seems like a smart one Aaron.” Rossi said as Hotch walked over to him and shook his hand in greeting.

“He definitely is.” Hotch said proudly.

“You like him?”

“Am I that obvious?” Hotch chuckled. “We’ve been together almost a month.”

“He seems a little young to be a profiler.”

“Like you said, he’s smart.”

Hotch watch Spencer and his expression started as one of fondness but quickly turned to one of worry when he saw Spencer go white then turn and run to the closest bathroom. “Excuse me” Hotch said quickly before turning and following after him.

He walked into the bathroom and was met with the sound of coughing and crying. “Spence? Can you unlock the stall love?” Hotch said, knocking on the door of the stall he heard Spencer inside of.

He heard a bit of rustling and the sound of a lock sapping open. He pulled the door open and saw the pitiful sight of Spencer collapsed on the ground, hoovering over the toilet as his body threw up everything he had eaten from breakfast.

Hotch jumped into action, kneeling on the floor beside him and pulling his soft curls out of his face as he rubbed circles into his back.

“It’s okay love. You’re doing so well.” He whispered praise.

“I need i-it.” Spencer said through his tears and now dry heaves. “I need the dilaudid.”

“No, you don’t” Hotch said firmly. “You don’t need it. You can get through this.”

“Please just let me h-have it! I need it” Spencer said even more desperately.

“Spencer, look at me.”

It took the teen several tried to calm his breath and look at his boyfriend but eh eventually did it. “There he is.” Hotch smiled. “I’m going to help you through this. You don’t need dilaudid. I have your go bag right here so you are going to wash your face, brush your teeth, then we are going to go to New York and help people. Because you love your job and your team, and we wouldn’t be able to solve cases without you.”

“Do you l-love me too?” Spencer asked softly, noting the other man had left that out of his little speech that he had repeated so often.

Hotch smiled sadly. “Oh Spencer of course I do! I have never love someone as much as I love you.” He pressed a soft kiss to his forehead. He made a mental note that the teen’s body temperature seemed to be a bit high.

“O-okay. I’m good now.” Spencer said shakily and managed to get to his feet. “I love you too.” He said with a small smile.

“It’s going to be okay. We will get through this” Hotch added.

He hoped he was right.


	2. Chapter 2

“There is a stop sign there.” Morgan said from the back seat where he was holding onto the handle for his life.

“I see it.” Spencer nodded as he pulled the SUV to a jerky stop at the red sign.

“New York is one of the hardest cities to drive in.” Morgan said.

“Actually, Manila is considered to be the hardest city to drive in because of its lack of enforcement of driving rules as well as the speed limits.” Spencer said.

“You’ve only had your license for two months.”

“He can handle it Morgan.” Hotch said from the passenger’s seat. Spencer had been glum the whole way to New York and Hotch had asked if he wanted to drive them to the police station in attempt to cheer him up and that’s exactly what it did. Spencer wasn’t allowed to drive the team often but when he did, it made him feel like he was actually doing something helpful. Like he wasn’t just some kid in their way.

“Alright now ease it in. Slowly. There you go.” Hotch instructed as Spencer tried to back the large car into the parking spot for the fifth time.

“I’m trying. I should be a 46.3-degree angle, but I just can’t get it.” He said, frustrated as he messed up and had to pull forward again.

“Let me help.” Aaron said, noticing all the drivers around them getting more and more upset. He reached one of his arms over and placed a hand on top of Spencer’s. “The SUV’s are hard to park” He said as the teen reversed and Hotch guided the car into the spot from the passenger’s side in one try.

“Yeah. I know that now.” Spencer said with a sheepish smile.

“Come on. Let’s meet everyone inside.”

They all got out of the car and met JJ, Prentiss, Garcia, and their newest member David Rossi inside. “I’ll go talk to the Capitan and get us a place to set up.” Hotch said. He squeezed Spencer’s shoulder once in a goodbye that could be seen as platonic to anyone walking by but Spencer knew meant a silence ‘I love you.’

“So, Spencer, have you always wanted to be a profiler? I read your file and it said you had three degrees. You could have had any job.” Rossi said, turning to the young agent.

“Y-yeah. I w-wanted to help p-people and Mr. Gideon o-offered me this j-job so I took it. Sir.” Spencer said, stuttering more than normal as he was still star struck from meeting the famous David Rossi.

“I see.” He nodded. He looked the teen up and down and Spencer felt like Rossi had been able to see straight into his soul. He was just that good at profiling.

“Who is that?” JJ asked, drawing the attention of the rest of the team to Hotch who was now in an office room and talking to a woman. A very pretty woman.

“That’s Kate Joyner. Hotch told me she’s from England. They worked together on a case a while back.” Prentiss said.

Spencer didn’t take any notice of the interaction across the room at first. Hotch talked with lots of people. It was part of his job as a profiler after all. Why would this be any different. But then he saw it. A smile. Not a professional one or one that came after a laugh. But Hotch’s mouth turned up into a small soft smile that was typically reserved for Spencer. A smile that went to his eyes as well and showed he truly cared. Spencer might be relatively new to profiling but he knew something was off.

“Is it just me or does she look…” Morgan started.

“Exactly like Haley.” JJ nodded with an unreadable look. “Yeah. She does.”

“Who is Haley?” Spencer asked, tilting his head to the side. The name didn’t sound familiar to him but everyone else seemed to know who that was.

“You don’t know?” Morgan asked, turning around in surprise.

Spencer just shook his head, confusion evident on his face.

“Spence Haley is Hotch ex-wife.” JJ said.

“I didn’t know he was married.” Spencer said. How had Hotch not told him that? It wasn’t like Spencer would have cared.

“He never told you?” Morgan asked.

Spencer only shook his head.

“Well, they were married for a while, but it didn’t end great. There was a nasty divorce about a year ago.” JJ said.

They were interrupted by Hotch himself walking over to them with Kate by his side. No one missed that way he had a hand on the small of her back as he guided her towards the group.

“Everyone this is Kate Joyner. She will be working with us on the investigation.” He said. “Agent Joyner this is agents Morgan, Rossi, Jereau, Prentiss, Garcia, and Reid.”

“Pleased to meet you.” She said with a charming accent. She they turned to Reid and asked the question he hated most. “Reid was it? How old are you? You seem a bit young to be in the FBI.”

“I’m more than qualified and it’s doctor.” He said shortly. “Is there a room with a map I could use.”

She nodded “Just down the hall there is-”

“Great. Thanks.” Spencer interrupted. He shouldered his bag a little higher before leaving the rest of the team and walking down the hall.

He got to the conference room and grabbed his pens and turned to the map. He needed to distract himself. He didn’t want to think about Hotch. And more importantly, he couldn’t think about the dilaudid and how much he wanted it. No. How much he needed it. His skin was on fire. He itched everywhere. He needed dilaudid. But he didn’t have any.

Spencer eventually gave up on trying to distract himself and collapsed on one of the spinning desk chairs. Why couldn’t he just be normal? Why did he have to be addicted to drugs? Why did Hotch have to smiled at Kate like that?

Why couldn’t things be easier?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LMK what you think!!


	3. Chapter 3

“As always it is a pleasure working with you.” Kate Joyner’s voice carried through the hall and into the conference room Spencer was currently working in.

“The pleasure is all mine.” Hotch replied. The two entered Spencer’s eye line in the large glass windows. He couldn’t help but notice the same smile Hotch had worn earlier was displayed on his face yet again.

“Shall we meet for lunch to discuss the case further?” She asked.

“That sounds lovely. I’ll see you then” Hotch nodded before they parted ways. He turned and entered the conference room. Spencer quickly pulled his attention back to his map so the older man wouldn’t know he had been watching.

“How’s it going.” Hotch asked. He came up behind Spencer and placed a hand on his shoulder, but Spencer turned the other way causing his arm to fall back to his side.

“Fine.” Was all the teen said. Normally he would have gone into detail about the different connections between locations or the way he was dividing the map into quadrantes to establish a pattern, but he remained quiet.

“Are you alright?” Hotch asked softly. The shift from boss to boyfriend was obvious.

“Fine.” He repeated.

“Are you having a craving?”

“Well, I-” Spencer started but was cut off by Kate popping her head back into the room.

“There has been another shooting. 4th and Pine. We need you Aaron.”

“Right. Coming.” He nodded.

Why did she call him Aaron instead of Hotch? Maybe they were even closer than Spencer originally thought.

“You aren’t allowed in the field. Find Morgan if you need help with…the situation.” Hotch said. He leaned in to kiss Spencer’s cheek, but the teen pulled back yet again. Hotch gave him a worried look but he didn’t have time to unpack that right now. He quickly rushed out of the room to follow Kate to the sight of the shooting.

Hotch had promised Spencer he would be there for him. He promised to help through the cravings and the withdrawal symptoms. But he had just said ‘find Morgan’ if he needed help. Not find Hotch. Find Morgan. Maybe Spencer was blowing things out of proportion or maybe he was making up things in his mind but why was Hotch acting so different? He didn’t like it. At all.

Spencer worked through the rest of the day battling with his need for dilaudid. He had hoped to eat lunch with Hotch but his boyfriends was nowhere to be found when lunch time came so he spent his time with Rossi discussing his books and different theories of cold cases.

The day ended the same as it had started; with no leads on who their shooters were. The team made it back to the hotel late and were all to eager to collapse into their beds and fall asleep. Well, all but Spencer that is.

The teen sat on top of his bed, dressed in sweatpants and a FBI shirt he had taken from Hotch. He nervously fiddled with the bottom of the sheets as he heard Hotch washing his face in the bathroom.

“You alright?” The man asked once he walked out dressed in his own pajamas and a towel handing around his neck that he was using to dry his freshly shaved face.

Spencer nodded once mutely.

“You sure?” Hotch asked.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were married?” Spencer blurted out, turning to look up at the older man. Hotch was clearly taken a back at the question.

“I’m not married. I was. A couple years ago.” He said quickly.

“I know you aren’t now, but you could have told me. That’s a pretty big part of your life to hide.”

“I guess I assumed you know. And considering I know almost nothing about your life before we met, I don’t think it’s fair for you to be mad at me.” Hotch said, taking a defensive tone. He knew rationally he should have told Spencer about Haley. He had planned on it. But he had jut never gotten to it.

“I’m sorry I don’t want to talk about my schizophrenic mother who would forget who I was and try to kill me. And I’m sorry I don’t enjoy telling people about my father who used to beat me.” Spencer shouted out, tears coming to his eyes. He hadn’t expected tonight to end in an argument.

Hotch once again was not quite sure what to say. “I’m sorry Spencer. Are you feeling alright? Are you having cravings-” He asked. He didn’t know what else would fuel such a tone from the teen.

“No! But I was having them earlier, but you were too busy to notice.” Spencer shot back.

Aaron let out a sigh. He sat down on the queen bed that was across from Spencer’s, so they were facing each other. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there. I was working on the case. I should have kept an eye on you.” He said.

“Right. The case.” Spencer nodded, biting his lip. He knew it wasn’t true. Whether Hotch knew it or not he wasn’t busy with the case. He was busy with Kate.

“I’m sorry Spence. Is there anything I can do now?” Aaron tried.

“No. I’m fine. Thanks.” Spencer lied.

“You sure.”

“Yeah.” Spencer said with a fake small smile. If the profiler was able to see through his façade, he did not let it show. He instead gave him a small nod and an apologetic smile. He then turned the lights off and got into his own bed.

Hotch was very strict with himself about sleeping in the same bed as his young boyfriend. He loved having Spencer in his arms at night, but he never initiates the action. He would always wait for Spencer to come to him before bed, which he often did, especially on cases. But tonight, Spencer climbed into his own bed and rolled onto his side facing away from Hotch.

Hotch sighed and climbed into his bed as well. He wished he knew what was going on with his boyfriend. It seemed like he was bad about something else besides the whole Haley thing. He just didn’t know what it was.

The teen had already gone through so much but there was more to come. Not only was he going through the withdrawal symptoms but Hotch had just received a file yesterday saying that a court date had been set for the trial of James. He had yet to tell Spencer because he knew he would start to freak himself out but they needed to talk about it eventually.

After the case. They could talk about it after the case.

With any luck it would be like any other case and they would have is solved in a couple days and they could go back home and get some much-needed rest.

But things never go as they are planed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, LMK what you think! I always love reading your comments!


	4. Chapter 4

Morgan had always felt protective of his team. Maybe it stemmed from his position as a protector over his sisters growing up. And maybe that was why he joined the FBI in the first place in order to help people.

It didn’t matter why but that was who he was. And that was why he was fiercely protective over their youngest agent. He and Spencer were close as brothers. He had always made it his goal to not only keep the kid safe but to try to get him to have fun and laugh a little. He’d grown up to fast and he wanted Spencer to act his own age for once.

He also wasn’t crazy about the idea of Hotch dating Spencer. Don’t get him wrong, he would trust Hotch with his life, but it didn’t change the fact that he was more than twice Spencer’s age. Sure, it was legal, but it didn’t mean he liked it.

Morgan made sure to keep tabs on their relationship. He had told Spencer to come to him if Hotch ever did anything he wasn’t comfortable with, but Reid had just laughed it off saying Hotch would never do anything like that. And Morgan didn’t think he would. But he was worried Spencer would get in over his head. He was so in love with his boss that he would never speak ill of him. That is what concerned him.

So, when Morgan noticed Hotch taking a special interest in Agent Joyner it made his blood boil a bit. Whether Hotch knew it or not, he was giving her special attention that should be given to Spencer. The kid was recovering from a drug addiction after all! He needed all the support he could get. 

His anger at his boss did not calm when they went to work the third day working the case. There had been three shootings already and there still had no leads. Morgan had suggested they put agents at all the large intersections and metro stations but the almighty Kate Joyner had said that was a waist of man power and of course Hotch had agreed with her.

Well guess where the next shooting was?

He had been eating lunch with Spencer when they had been told.

“Come on man just try it” Morgan laughed moving the pickle closer to Spencer’s face.

The teen whipped his head away from the food as though it were poison. “No! I don’t want to try it! Get it away from me” He scrunched his nose liked a toddler throwing a tantrum.

“You’re a growing boy! You need to try new foods.” Morgan chuckled but pulled the pickled back and took a bite of it.

“I’m old enough to know what I like” He said stubbornly.

“You can’t just eat jello, pasta, and coffee your whole life.”

Spencer chose not to reply instead taking a bite of his spaghetti.

“I’ve been meaning to talk to you about something.” Morgan changed the subject. “Has Hotch been-”

He was cut off by Prentiss rushing past the conference room they were in closely followed by Rossi.

“There must be another shooting.” Spencer said, both he and Derek getting to they’re feet and following the other agents to the main area of the precinct where Hotch and Kate were watching video footage.

“Another shooting at 8th Ave and Loyal. They already got away.” Hotch said, turning to his team.

“8th and Loyal?” Morgan said, feeling his temper begin to rise.

“Yes.” Hotch nodded.

“That’s one of the major intersections I said we needed to have people on.” He continued, raising his voice a bit.

“Yes but-” Kate spoke.

“No buts! We should have had agents up there and you know that Hotch.”

“Morgan calm down.” Hotch took a step forward. His team never spoke like this to him, especially in the middle of the police station.

“I won’t calm down! You should have listened to me an now people are dead because you keep following after Kate” Morgan shouted.

“Take a walk! Now!” Hotch shouted. The room went silent. There wasn’t a single person alive that would disobey Hotch when he used that tone.

Morgan muttered something under his breath and turned, storming out of the room.

Hotch sighed, rubbing a hand across his face. “Back to work everyone.” He said, calling the officers who had been watching the interaction back to their jobs. He then turned to Spencer. The teen had an unreadable look on his face. It was like something Hotch had never seen before. His eyes were clearly sad, but the rest of his face was like stone.

“Spence-”

“I’ll go brief the Appleton police station.” Spencer said, voice strained. He had to bite his lip to keep from breaking into tears.

“Can we talk first.” Hotch said, talking a step forward and lowering his voice.

“We need to catch the killers. Everyone else has a task to do. I’ll brief Appleton.” He said with the same frozen look that was breaking Hotch’s heart.

“I…Ok. Be careful.” Hotch nodded. As much as he wanted to, he couldn’t treat Spencer any differently because they were dating.

Spencer nodded and turned, walking out of the station before getting in the SUV and driving away.

“We have another shot fired.” Kate rushed over to Hotch.

“Alright let’s go.” He said. “Morgan, I need you on 2nd Ave with Rossi. Prentiss go to 7th.” He shouted to his team who all nodded and rushed out to their black SUVs and drove away. Hotch and Kaye began walking to their own car.

  
“I hope I didn’t give you the impression that I was interested in a non-professional relationship.” Hotch said as they walked.

“Why would I think of anything else. It’s not like we went out to a fancy dinner last night.” Kate said. Her tone was professional, but her words suggested something else.

“I have a boyfriend.” He said.

“Might I ask who?”

“Spencer Reid.”

She let out a laugh. “Reid? The little pipe cleaner with eyes?” She laughed.

Hotch frowned. “He is very smart and-” but he never got to finish because everything went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!! As always lmk what you thinK!!


	5. Chapter 5

Spencer had had a hard time briefing the Appleton police unit. They didn’t show him even an ounce of respect and had asked him multiple times if there was anyone older that could deliver the profile. Despite all their taunts, Spencer managed to inform them about the person and group they were looking for. He was now sitting in traffic in the SUV making his way back to the station. The road ahead of him seemed to be blocked off for some reason but the didn’t know why. He was beginning to get nervous though. He thought there might have been another shooting but there was no way for him to pull over to go investigate so he remained seated with his hands clasped tightly around the steering wheel going nowhere.

For the hundredth time that day, he craved dilaudid. He knew he couldn’t have any especially when they were working on suck an important case but it didn’t stop the need that was running through his veins.

He was snapped out of his daze by the sound of an ambulance siren. The cars around him managed to pull away enough to let the vehicle through. Spencer noticed the driver seemed to be covered in blood which was odd. Drivers were not usually part of the medical team. He didn’t get a good look at their face, so he brushed it off.

Reid had hoped that the traffic would start moving now but they remained at a standstill. He looked around to make sure they really wouldn’t move before fishing his phone out of his pocket. He was always very careful not to look at his phone while driving. He knew the statistics on distracted driving deaths, and he didn’t want to become one of them. Not to mention that fact he was a technophobe and didn’t spend much time on the device to begin with. But now, he figured he should check in with his team and see what was going on.

He looked down and felt a feeling of dread in his stomach. 13 missed calls from Garcia. 27 from Morgan, 9 from Prentiss, 15 from JJ and one from an unknown number that he assumed was Rossi. He noted the absence of his boyfriends contact which only fueled the fear further. Did something happen to Hotch? Or maybe the man was too busy with Kate to call him. No. He couldn’t think about that right now.

He quickly clicked on the most recent number which happened to belong to Morgan. He answered on the first ring.

“Reid! Are you alright?” His voice sounded frantic which was not normal for him. Derek was usually good under pressure.

“Y-Yeah. I’m stuck in traffic on 12th Ave south.” He said. “What happened?”

“We don’t know all the details yet but there was another attack. Someone set a bomb off under one of our SUVs. Joyner looked pretty bad-”

“What about Hotch?!” Spencer cut him off. His heart felt frozen. If Hotch was hurt, or worse…Spencer didn’t know what he would do.

“He’ll be alright. They are on their way to the hospital and we are meeting them there.”

“I’m on my way.” Spencer said. Before Morgan could say anything else, Spencer had already hung up.

Spencer was not a good driver by any conventional standards. Though he was a genius in many fields, driving was not one of them. In that moment, all that mattered was getting to Hotch. In the middle of the lock-jam on 12th Ave, Reid flicked on the lights and sirens of the SUV, catching drivers around him by surprise. At first, they did nothing, but they eventually began to back up as best they could when he turned the volume even higher on the siren. Once out of his original spot, Spencer used the path created by the ambulance to fly down the road in the direction of the hospital.

There was a reason he was not permitted to drive during typical cases but that also happened to be the reason he made it to the large medical building in record time. He may not have obeyed the rules of the road. Any of them. But he was closer to Hotch now and that was what mattered.

He pulled up in front, making no effort to park correctly, before jumping out and rushing inside.

“I’m looking for Aaron Hotchner.” Spencer panted, out of breath to the receptionist.

“I’m sorry young man but we are not permitting visitors at this time.” She said with a fake smile.

“I’m SSA Reid with the FBI.” He said holding up his badge.

“That’s very cute sweetheart but we are still not letting in guests.” She said, clearly not believing that the scrawny teen before her was a federal agent.

Spencer was not going to take no for an answer. He saw the door to their left that was marked as the ER and before anyone could stop him, sprinted towards it as fast as he small nonathletic legs would carry him.

“Sir!” the woman called after him, but Spencer was already inside. He looked around quickly. He heard Hotch before he saw him.

“I need my suit. Get my go bag. We have work to do.”

“Hotch man you need to rest.” Came the voice of Morgan who was attempting to get his boss to sit. Aaron was in pretty bad shape.

“No. I need to find Spence-” He started but stopped when he noticed the youngest agent running towards them.

“Aaron!” Spencer said, once he made it to his side.

“Spence.” Hotch said, pulling him into a hug the best he could manage in his current condition.

“You need to be sitting down! What happened? Where are you hurt?” Spencer said. It was an odd sight to see the 100-pound teen ordering the much older man to sit but Hotch did as he was told. He would do anything to make Spencer happy.

“I’m alright.” Hotch said, reaching a hand to cup Spencer’s cheek. “I need to get to work.”

They were interrupted by Prentiss rushing in. “We need to evacuate the hospital.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LMK what you think!


	6. Chapter 6

“Why?”

“The EMT who brought you and Joyner here is the one who set off the car bomb. We think they are going to target the hospital.” Prentis said with urgency.

“There must be someone important here. That’s why security is so tight.” Spencer added.

“Alright. Prentiss, Reid, and Rossi start the evacuation. I’ll help once I’m dressed. Morgan, go down to the ambulance and see if there is a bomb. If there is, get out and call bomb squad.” Hotch ordered.

Everyone nodded and went their separate ways to follow their instructions. Well, everyone but Spencer. He saw that the rest of the NYPD was already aiding in getting everyone out so he decided he would go with Morgan to assess the situation with the ambulance. Spencer had done lots of research on bombs and explosives. Maybe he could help him diffuse it if it came to that?

As quickly as he could he made his way down the stairs to the garage. He thought he heard gun shots at one point but kept on going. He eventually made it to the red emergency vehicle. He heard Morgan on the phone with who he assumed was Garcia.

“I can’t stop it. I need to get it out of here. Find me an empty area.” He said, sounding slightly more panicked than usual. Spencer saw him make his way to the front seat and start the engine. He knew what Morgan was going to try to do. He was going to be stupid and heroic and get himself killed to save the hundreds of people still in the building.

Well two could play the hero game.

Spencer silently climbed into the back of the ambulance, not bothering to shut the door, just as Morgan began to drive. He saw the bomb immediately. It looked similar to ones he had studied in the past. There was 2 minutes and 23 seconds on the clock. He needed to not focus on the time. He needed to work.

Spencer quickly opened up the control panel and was met with dozens of twisted colored wires. Alright. Deep breath. He could do this.

Up in the front, Morgan was driving like a mad man, weaving through traffic left and right. The only thing that mattered to him was getting the explosive as far away from people as he could. Sure, he hoped to survive but that was not his top priority at the moment.

He had been keeping track of the time in his head. He had about 1 minute and 5 seconds before he needed to make his getaway. According to Garcia who was currently shouting directions and frantically telling him he needed to get out of it alive, he would have just enough time.

He eventually made it to the field that he had been promised. He said a quick goodbye to the tech analyst before setting his phone on the passenger seat, not wanting to have anything in his hands when he jumped.

He had 7 more seconds. He just needed to get a little farther before he jumped. He kept time in his head, pressing the gas as far as it would go before opening the door and rolling out, taking care to cover his head and land properly so he wouldn’t injure anything.

He looked up to see the vehicle was still moving because of the momentum. It was far enough away that it shouldn’t harm him. 3 more seconds.

His smile quickly faded to a look of terror when he saw, in the back of the ambulance, the one and only Spencer Reid frantically bending and cutting wires. He hearts sunk. He must have been trying to save Derrek.

2 seconds.

The kid needed to jump. Even if he got out now, he would still be in the blast zone.

1 second.

“Spencer!!”

\----

“Did everyone make it out? Is the building secured?” Hotch asked as he, Rossi, and Prentis stood by the yellow police tape that was roping off the hospital.

“Everyone made it out.” Prentiss nodded. She looked around before correcting herself. “Actually, where are Morgan and Spencer.”

Their question was unfortunately answered by Penelope Garcia running up to them in her short pink heals with tears running down her face.

“Garcia. What happened?” Hotch asked urgently.

“T-there was a bomb in the a-ambulance and Morgan was going to d-drive it to a deserted f-field. A-and I c-can’t get ahold of him but I heard h-him yell Spencer r-right before the call was dropped.” She sobbed.

Hotch felt his heart freeze. This felt so similar to the last two times they had lot the teen. He felt like he couldn’t breathe and yet he forced his lungs to cooperate and let in air because that was the only way he would be able to save his boyfriend.

“Garcia. What is the address of the field you gave Morgan directions to?” Hotch spoke as calmly as he could considering he wanted to burn the hospital to the ground. Metaphorically of course.

She recited the coordinates and Hotch and Rossi rushed to the SUV. Much like Morgan had done, Hotch chose not to follow traffic laws. If nearly hitting a city bus was going to get him closer to Spencer, then he was going to do it.

“Aaron, you need to be prepared for the possibility that they didn’t make it out in time.” Rossi said slowly.

“No.” Was the only response the unit chief gave. He was not going to believe Spencer was dead until his lifeless body was in his arms. He had been told the teen was dead once before that that had nearly killed Hotch as well. Spencer had to be alive. He just had to.

Because Hotch didn’t know what he would do if Spencer Reid were to die.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!! LMK what you think!


	7. Chapter 7

“I don’t see them.” Hotch repeated for the third time as he and Rossi drove around the huge grass field in search of their two agents.

“Well, the good news is there doesn’t seem to be any signs of an explosion.” The older agent said.

“I suppose.” Aaron said, still worried. He wouldn’t feel better until Spencer was in his arms again.

They kept driving in circles. Hotch was about to radio in for more help when he saw a slight silhouette in the otherwise dark area. “Is that-” Rossi started but Hotch had already shut off the car and was sprinting across the plain towards the figure of Derek Morgan and Spencer Reid.

“Hotch!” Spencer cried out in relief. He stumbled towards him as well as Hotch pulled the smaller teen into his arms. He ran a hand in the back of his hair holding him as close as he possibly could.

“God Spencer, you need to stop scarring me like that.” Hotch muttered into his ear, still refusing to let go.

“I’m sorry.” Spencer said and Hotch felt the smile fade a bit from his face.

“Hey, it’s alright. I’m just glad you’re okay.” Hotch said, pulling away a but still keeping a hand on his shoulder. He then rounded on Morgan.

“You took him with you?! You brought an 18-year-old in an ambulance filled with explosives?” He was mad. The team all knew Spencer should be kept out of the field whenever possible. There was no reason the older agent needed to bring the teen and risk his life.

“Hotch I didn’t know he-”

“You both could have died. Or you could have hurt more civilians if you hadn’t made it out here when it exploded.” Hotch continued.

“It didn’t explode!” Spencer cut in excitedly. “I stopped it”

“You stopped a bomb?” Hotch asked, not sure whether to be angry, shocked, or impressed.

“Yes! I’d never diffused a real bomb, but it was very similar to the simulations I have completed. It’s all a matter of diffusing the different modules in time and not cross any of the wires with each other.” He explained, a proud smile on his face.

“You know how to diffuse a bomb?” Hotch said, still in a state of surprise.

“Of course! I know how to do a lot of things. In theory I can also fly a plane and deliver a baby, though I don’t particularly wish to do any of those.” He said, face scrunching at the end.

“You never cease to amaze me.” Hotch said fondly.

“He’s a smart kid.” Morgan agreed.

“You on the other hand” Hotch’s face hardened again when he turned to the other man, “have disappointed me.”

“It’s not his fault!” Spencer spoke up quickly. “He didn’t know I was inside. I snuck in the back. I didn’t want him to kill himself to save all of us.”

“So you chose to risk your own life?” Hotch asked.

“I couldn’t let him die.” Spencer looked down at his feet. “He’s my friend.”

Hotch and Morgan exchanged a look. As much as Aaron wanted to scold him for his reckless actions, he wouldn’t do it right then. They could talk about it later. Right now, all he wanted to do was hold his boyfriend close to him.

“Let’s just get back to the station and close the case.” Hotch said and was met with a murmur of agreement. They went to the SUV which Rossi was not driving. Morgan sat in the passenger seat and left Spencer and Hotch in the back to cuddle up close to each other. Aaron wrapped an arm protectively around the young doctor.

“What happened to Kate? Is she okay?” Spencer asked softly after a long period of silence. He may not have liked Joyner, but he didn’t want anything to happen to her. Hotch was reminded again what a pure person Spencer was.

“She didn’t make it.” Hotch sighed sadly.

“I-I’m sorry.” Spencer said, leaning over and pressing a kiss to the taller man’s cheek in attempt to offer some form of comfort.

“ _I’m_ sorry.” Hotch countered. “I didn’t realize how unfairly I have been acting this week. Kate just reminded me of my ex-wife, and I suppose I got caught up in memories. Now I realize that I am much happier now, with you, than I ever was with Haley. I’m sorry I didn’t act like it.”

“It’s alright. I’ll admit I did get a little jealous though.” Spencer admitted with a slight blush.

“You had every right to be.” Hotch hummed. “How are you feeling right now. Any cravings?” He asked, still worried about the withdrawal process.

“They only thing I’m craving is you.” Spencer said with a shy smile that made Hotch burst out laughing before pulling the teen into a deep and passionate kiss.

“Better?” He asked after pulling away.

“Much better.” Spencer nodded.

“Are you sure you’re feeling alright though? You seem a little pale.” Hotch asked, worry coating his eyes.

“Well, I did just diffuse a bomb.” He chuckled, trying to cover the discomfort his was in but Hotch did not fall for it. “I almost used again.” Spencer admitted sadly.

“But you didn’t, right? Where did you get it? Are you okay?” Hotch asked all at once.

“There was some in the ambulance. With the other medication. It would have been so easy to just grab the vile and put it in my pocket…” He said, sounding like he regrated not taking the drug with him.

“Hey, you did it. Spence. You are so strong. You are doing so good.” Hotch praised, pulling him even closer to his side.

“I know. It’s just hard.” He said sadly.

“It is.” Aaron didn’t disagree. He didn’t know if he himself would be able to do it, but Spencer was a strong kid. “But I’m going to help you. The whole team is going to help you. And you’ve come so far already!”

“I know I know. Sometimes it just sucks.” Reid said.

“You’re right. It does. Sometimes life just sucks.”

But at least both of them were alive. Neither of them had been killed by bombs or bullets. Spence hadn’t used drugs and they were both together at that moment.

And that was all they really needed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!!


	8. Chapter 8

“What do you think?” Aaron asked as he took a sip of his wine.

“This looks too expensive.” Spencer said, looking around the restaurant warily. When Hotch had told him that he was taking him out to dinner, he had expected they would be getting takeout Chinese food, not going to a five star Italian restaurant downtown.

“We deserve a nice dinner together.” Hotch said. “And I’m still trying to make up for my behavior in New York.”

“That was a week ago. You have already been forgiven.” Spencer smiled.

“I know. But I still want to do something special. We spend a lot of time together but most of the time we are talking about serial killers.”

“Well, what do you want to talk about?” Spencer asked, takin a bite of his pasta.

“Why don’t you choose.”

“Why don’t you want to have sex with me?” Spencer blurted out as if he had been wanting to ask for a while.

Hotch let out a cough, choking on his food. He clearly had not been expecting that sort of question.

“W-what?” The man stuttered out eventually.

“Why won’t you have sex with me.” He repeated. “Have I done something wrong? Statistically speaking couples usually routinely engage in intercourse after being together for two months and we have been together for four and we haven’t done anything.” He rattled of statistics rapidly.

“Hey hey.” Hotch scooted his chair closer to the teen and grabbed one of his hands that had been gesturing wildly. He ran his fingers over the palm in attempt to comfort him. “There is absolutely nothing wrong with you.”

“Then d-don’t you want to touch me?” He asked a bit too loudly, gaining some strange looks from those around them.

Hotch ran a hand through his hair. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to touch Spencer. It was the opposite problem actually. Hotch wanted nothing more than to put his hands-on Spencer and…he couldn’t think about that right now.

“I don’t want to pressure you.” Hotch said carefully. Spencer could be sensitive about a lot of things and he didn’t want to give the teen the wrong impression.

“I don’t feel pressured!” Reid said, as if the whole problem would be solved.

“I know love, but you are so young.”

“I’m not a virgin.” He stated.

“What? Really?” Hotch asked, clearly surprised. It wasn’t like it mattered to him, he still loved Spencer, but Reid didn’t seem like the type that would have a lot of experience.

“I told you about what happened with James. When he would touch me.” He said softly, looking down at his food that now seemed unappetizing.

“Can you look at me?” Hotch asked gently. It took him a minute, but Spencer eventually raised his eyes to meet his boss’s darker ones.

“That doesn’t count love. You did not consent. Your real first time will be special, and you will enjoy it. It doesn’t count if it was forced.” He said firmly.

“They why can’t it be with you?” Spencer asked, puppy dog eye in full force.

Hotch sighed. “It’s not that I don’t want to Spence. I’m just worried. You are still so young and I don’t want you to regret it.”

“I won’t! I want to be with you.” Spencer sounded almost desperate. Desperate to prove his love and experience intimacy.

“I’m not opposed to being more intimate, but we still need to take it slow.” Hotch said carefully.

Spencer nodded. He wanted to be with Hotch in any way possible and was grateful the man was looking out for him.

“I hate to change the subject to something more serious, but you brought up James and we need to talk about that a bit.” Hotch said. They both turned back to their food but Hotch kept one of his hands laced with Spencer’s under the table.

“They set a court date?” Spencer asked. He knew it would be inevitable but was still dreading the day.

“Yes. It’s in three weeks.” Aaron said. “Needless to say, I will be with you through the whole thing and I will help you prepare.”

“Any you will be my lawyer?” Spencer looked up hopefully.

“If you like.” Hotch nodded, secretly glad Spencer had asked him. He had been a damn good lawyer and he honestly didn’t trust anyone else to fight for Spencer in court.

Spencer nodded. “Yes please.”

“We don’t have to go through the case right now, I just wanted to bring it up so you were aware.”

The rest of the dinner was spent with pleasant conversation. They were both just grateful to be able to spend time together. It had been a long time since they could just act like a normal couple without having to worry about a serial killer.

Once they made it back to house Spencer pulled the taller man down to his level into a heated kiss. Hotch hadn’t intended their introduction to intimacy to begin that night but he couldn’t help wrapping his arms around Spencer’s waist and pull him closer.

Spencer reached up and untied the taller man’s tie, pulling him as he shuffled backwards and they eventually collapsed on the couch, Hotch on top.

Aaron pulled away for a moment to admire the man below him. He had a slight blush of his face and appeared flustered, but in a good way.

“You look beautiful.” He smiled. It only made Spencer blush even more.

“T-thanks.” He replied. He was about to deny the statement but Hotch connected their lips again before he could argue.

“Tell me what you want me to do.” Hotch said after pulling away again. He was a bit breathless himself, but nothing compared to Spencer who was already a beautiful mess even from just little stimulation.

Before he could answer, Hotch’s phone rang from where it had been carelessly dropped on the counter.

Aaron let out a sigh. He pressed one last kiss to Spencer’s cheek before standing and going to answer the phone.

Spencer slowly sat up. He had never felt so electric in his life. He attempted to straighten his clothes and hair but gave up after a minute of effort.

“I’m sorry Spencer. I have to go.” Hotch said, he walked back into the room, already re-tying his tie.

“Where are we going? Do we have a case?” He asked, standing as well.

“No. I have to go to Boston to talk to a Detective I worked with a long time ago. He said it’s important and time sensitive.” He pulled on his coat. He then grabbed both his and Spencer’s go bags from where they were always kept ready in the hall closet.

“Where am I going?” Spencer asked, noting his bag.

“I’m going to drop you off at Morgan’s. You’ve been doing so good with your withdrawal and I don’t want anything to happen when I’m gone.” Hotch said. “Is that alright?”

“Yeah.” Spencer nodded. He had wanted the spend the night with his boyfriend, but Morgan always had something fun planned when he slept over.

“Alright let’s go.” Hotch said, opening the door and letting Spencer walk out first. He locked the door behind them before pulling and hand on the small of Reid’s back as they walked to the car.

“Stay safe. Don’t let Morgan corrupt you.” Hotch smiled a couple minutes later after Spencer climbed out of the car.

“Ready to get drunk Pretty Boy?” Morgan called from the steps.

“Morgan!” Hotch warned.

“Kidding!” Derek called back with a smile, but he shot a wink to Reid who only rolled his eyes and giggled. He knew Morgan wouldn’t let him drink and he was just trying to mess with the boss.

“By Spence. Love you.”

“I love you too Aaron.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LMK what you think!!


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: there is underage drinking in this chapter

“I see gears shifting in your head. What’s going on in that big brain of yours pretty boy?” Morgan asked, ruffling Spencer’s hair and taking a sip of his beer. This was the second night the teen was spending with the other agent while Hotch was away. The weekend had been filled with movies, pizza, and Derrek attempting to teach Spencer new self-defense moves at the gym but Reid being too uncoordinated to even properly throw a punch.

“I was just thinking…” Reid said slowly. He kept looking over at Morgan, or more importantly, what was in his hand.

“Thinking ‘bout what kid?”

“When you told Aaron- I mean Hotch- that we were going to get drunk…you were just joking right?”

Morgan let out a chuckle. “Yeah kid. It takes a lot more than one beer to get me drunk.” He said taking another swig of the bottle.

“I know.” Spencer nodded. He knew the percentage alcohol in the drink and judging by Morgan’s size it would take at least 4.3 servings to get him drunk. “But can I try some?” He asked tentatively.

“Nah kid. I’m not going to get arrested or whatever.”

“Actually, in Virginia the exception to the law of being 21 includes the consumption of alcohol by a minor while on private property that does not sell alcohol and with consent of a legal guardian. Since I am 18 and staying with you, you are technically my guardian.” Spencer spouted out like he had been thinking about it for a long time.

“You are forgetting that you have a big scary boyfriend that happened to be my boss.” Morgan chuckled.

“Come on! I thought you were supposed to be like my cool uncle or something.” Spencer gave him puppy dog eyes.

Morgan was at war with himself. He knew, even if it was technically legal for Spencer to have a drink, he didn’t want to be murdered by their unit chief. He was confident Hotch would be able to successfully get away with murdered if he needed to. On the other hand, he did want Spencer to act like a teenage while he still had the chance. It was better he had one drink here then go out and make mistakes somewhere else. And of course, he did want to live up to his role as the fun uncle.

“Alright.” He eventually caved in. You can have one beer, but you can’t tell Hotch.” He nodded.

Spencer smiled. “Statistically speaking, the alcohol will have left my system by the time he comes to pick me up in the morning.”

Morgan nodded and went to the fridge to get the drink with the lowest percent alcohol he could find. “Why the sudden interest in having a drink?” Morgan asked as he popped open the bottle with a keychain.

“I don’t know. It seems like everyone else my age is always drinking. At least in movies and tv shows.” He said looking down. “I find my peers to be insufferable and immature but sometimes I wish I could relax I guess.”

“Well maybe we can try to get you some friends your age.” Morgan handed him the cold bottle.

“I tried that. He ended up being a drug dealer.” Spencer laughed.

Morgan did not laugh. “You need to be careful with alcohol. It is a drug as well.” Maybe it wasn’t the smartest idea to give a recovering drug addict a beer.

“It is a drug and while it can be addictive, it does not have the same addictive properties at dilaudid and other drugs of that sort.” Spencer spouted off. He took a swig of the drink. He tried his best not to make a face, but he couldn’t help but wince at the bitter taste, causing Morgan to laugh.

“It tastes pretty bad doesn’t it.” He chuckled, taking a drink himself and having no reaction.

“It’s disgusting.” He nodded but still took another drink.

“Don’t have any if you don’t like it” Morgan warned.

“I’m fine. One bottle won’t affect me that much. I probably won’t even get drunk.”

\---

Spencer was drunk. Morgan really should have guessed that he would be a light weight considering how tiny he was and because he would probably have a low tolerance.

He toggled between amusement and concern as Spencer danced around the apartment in a rendition of some sea shanty he had made up about Hotch’s eyes. It could not be classified as music, but it was an attempt at it.

“Why don’t you have some water?” Morgan chuckled once Spencer had attempted a spin move and had slipped on his mismatched sock and feel onto the couch in a state of giggles.

“I’m not thirsty” He stated firmly.

“Yeah, but I don’t want you to be too hung over when boss man comes and picks you up in the morning.” Spencer tilted his head to the side in confusion. “Hotch. Our boss.” He clarified.

Spencer perked up again at the mention of the older man. “Hotch!” He smiled before turning his voice into a low whisper as if he were telling a secret. “Sometimes I call him HOTchner.” He said before falling back into giggles.

“Lord help me.” Morgan chuckled.

“Hotty-chner said he would have sex with me.” Spencer continued, causing Morgan to spit out his drink in surprise.

“He what?!” There was no way Hotch would do that so soon. Spencer was still so much younger and from what Derek had gathered from his past, had been sexually and physically assaulted. Hotch shouldn’t be trying to sleep with him just yet.

“He told me he wanted to not not have sex.” Spencer smiled before laughing to himself yet again. “Double negative makes a positive!!!” He shouted out.

“Alright maybe it’s bedtime.”

Before Spencer could start to protest that he was not, in fact, a child, the doorbell rang.

“Who’s that?” Spencer asked, whipping his head in the direction of the frount of the house.

“I’m not sure kid. I’ll go find out.”

“Noooo! Morgan you can’t!! What if it’s a serial killer?!” Spencer said. There where honest to god tears beginning to roll down his face at the sudden fear of a murderer.

“I think I’ll be okay.” Morgan said.

Spencer’s mood changed once again. He jumper to his feet, grabbed one of his shoes off the floor and held it like a weapon before darting out in front of Morgan. “Stay behind me! I’m an FBI agent.”

“Yeah yeah alright.” Morgan chuckled, easily pushing past him. He honestly had no idea who would ringing his bell at this hour.

He walked down the hall, Spencer at his heals before looking out the peep hole and sighing. He should have guessed. He really wasn’t in the mood to get his ass beaten that night, but he opened the door.

“HOTCH!” Spencer shouted as soon as the man was in view. He ran forward and jumped full force into the man’s arms, wrapping his arms and legs around him.

Hotch gave a small grunt of surprise but caught him anyway. “Missed me?” He asked, clearly not having realized the situation yet.

“How was the trip?” Morgan asked, taking advantage of the few minutes he had left before being murdered for giving Spencer a beer. He couldn’t help be give a small smile at how odd the sight before him was. Hotch was, as usual, impeccably dressed in a suit while Spencer had on one green and one purple sock, a pair of gym shorts he had insisted on taking from Morgan, a white dress shirt and his signature purple scarf.

“It was interesting. I found out that…” He started before pausing and sniffing the air around him, or more specifically, Spencer. He slowly lowered his lover to the floor and looked him up and down carefully, beginning to realize what was going on. He slowly turned to Morgan.

“Is he drunk?!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!! LMK what you think!!


	10. Chapter 10

“Morgan. I asked, is he drunk?” Hotch repeated, voice so calm it felt more dangerous than if he were to yell.

“He only had one-” Derek started but was cut off.

“He’s 18! How could you give him alcohol?”

Morgan narrowed his eyes. “He’s 18! How could you tell him you would have sex with him?”

“I… what? What did he tell you?” Hotch asked, looking between the other agent and his boyfriend who was still standing with a silly smile on his face, too happy that hotch was back to notice the tension in the room.

“He told me enough. He’s less than half your age man! Not to mention all the trauma he’s been through!”

“I didn’t say I would have sex with him.” Hotch said rubbing a hand over his eyes tiredly.

“Y-you don’t want to?” Spencer said, turning from giddy to absolutely crestfallen in a matter of seconds.

“What? No Spence. I just mean-”

“I though you w-wanted me! J-James was right. No one will ever want me.” He said, beginning to sob. He turned and quickly ran back into the living room. It turned out Spencer was a very emotional drunk.

Both Hotch and Morgan looked at each other, making a mental note of what the teen had just said, before following Spencer into the room. He was collapsed on the couch with a pillow pulled over his head, as though he was attempting to hide from them.

Hotch sat gingerly next to him on the edge of the couch while Morgan stood back a bit, deciding to give them a moment.

“Hey Spence? Can you come out from under that pillow? I want to see your face.” Aaron asked. He placed a hand on the boys back and rubbed comforting circles.

“No.” He said stubbornly.

“Please? I missed you.”

The only reply was the slights rustling of the pillow indicating that Spencer was shaking his head.

“We need to get home. Walt misses you.” He tried.

This caught the teen’s attention. Spencer slowly poked his eyes out from under the fabric. Now more than ever he looked young, like a child being bribed with candy. “Walt?”

“Yeah baby. He’s at home waiting for you.”

Spencer let out a small giggle. “You’ve never called me baby before.”

“I haven’t?” Hotch asked, smiling as well and feeling much better now that his boyfriend wasn’t crying.

“Nope. You’ve called me love 168 times, angel twice, and Spence 235 times. And baby once.” He recited off then released a small hiccup from the crying and drinking.

“Do you like those names?” Hotch asked, amused.

Spencer nodded frantically. “Yup!”

“Alright then let’s get home love.”

“169” Spencer smiled before giggling again. “69” he laughed to himself.

“You’re a bad influence on him.” Hotch said to Morgan. There was some annoyance in his voice but also a fondness.

“Go easy on him. He’s young. Let him have fun.” Morgan said.

“We aren’t done talking. I sense there are somethings you would like to say to me as well.” Hotch asked, picking up Spencer’s satchel with is belongings in it as Derek nodded.

“Alright let’s get you home.” Aaron said, helping Spencer to his feet and wrapping an arm around him as they left the apartment and went out to the SUV.

The ride home was filling with Spencer rambling on and one and making even less sense than he usually did. Hotch only nodded along and occasionally asked questions as best he could given the chaos of Spencer’s lecture.

Once they finally arrived Spencer ran straight inside and pulled his dog into a hug. “Walt! I missed you! Did Garcia feed you enough?”

The dog of courses didn’t answer but Spencer nodded intently as if he understood what each bark meant. And for all hotch knew, maybe he could! He wouldn’t be surprised if a genius like Spencer could develop some sort of method to understand animals.

“Come on, let’s get to bed.” Hotch said, hanging up his coat.

  
“I’m not tired.” Spencer said stubbornly.

  
“Yeah, sure but you are going to have a nasty hang over tomorrow so it’s best you get to sleep.” He said.

“In your bed?” Spencer smiled cheekily.

“Yes” Hotch said carefully after a moment. “But no funny business. Especially not when you are intoxicated.”

Spencer nodded and went running through the halls to the large master bedroom.

Hotch shook his head fondly and followed the genius down the hall. When he entered his room, Spencer was already lying-in bed wearing one of Hotch’s t-shirts.

“I told you you were tired.” He smiled, taking off his own dress clothes and putting on a t-shirt and pajama pants.

“Why don’t you wear my clothes?” Spencer asked with a pout. “I always wear your shirts.”

“Because your clothes are way too small for me darling.” Hotch said, trying out another pet name.

Spencer didn’t seem satisfied with his answer and continued to scowl. Hotch hated seeing him unhappy and decided to compromise. “How about this, I’ll wear one of your ties to work tomorrow. How does that sound?”

Spencer perked up again and nodded with a smile.

Pleased that the teen was no longer upset, Hotch turned out the lights and climbed into bed. Before he could even pull up the covers, Spencer had already wrapped himself around his boyfriend like a koala bear. He was an emotional and a clingy drunk. Hotch made a mental note of that.

He wrapped his own arms around Spencer and held him close as they began to drift off. Maybe it was the alpha male in him, but he always felt the need to have his arms around his boyfriend when they slept together. Maybe it was stupid, but he was worried someone would take the genius away from him. It wasn’t like people hadn’t tried in the past what with Tobias and all that.

But right now, Spencer was calmly sleeping against his chest. Alive and well albeit a bit drunk. But he was safe. And that was what mattered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's a little bit more fluff before we get back into the angst!! Thanks for reading!!


	11. Chapter 11

“I’m dying!”

“You’re not.”

“I am!”

“You’re fine.” Hotch said for the hundredth time that morning.

“I’m not fine! My head is going to spontaneously combust.”

“Then you shouldn’t have been drinking.” Hotch said firmly. He was trying to treat Spencer like an adult, show him actions have consequences and not coddle him because of something as simple as a hangover, but it was hard! Spencer was cocooned inside a mountain of blankets with only his head and messed up hair popping out. Hotch just wanted to jump back into bed and cuddle him all day, but they had to go to work.

“I’ll just stay home. I’ll call in sick.” Spencer spoke.

“That would be a good plan if I were not your boss and I hadn’t seen you drunk off your ass last night.” Hotch smiled, pulling on his dress coat. “Besides, we have a case/”

“We do?” Spencer perked up a bit.

“Yes. It’s about the officer I went to talk to yesterday.”

“What did he say?”

“I’ll tell you once you are dressed and ready to go to work.

Spencer quickly jumped to his feet and ran into the bathroom to get ready for the day. Hotch smiled fondly.

He felt his phone ring in his pocket and pulled out the government issued device seeing a text from Morgan.

_Talk this morning?_

Hotch replied _, My office._

He was still mad at Morgan. Furious in fact, but he knew Morgan had a bone to pick as well.

Spencer cam bounding out dressed in his typical professor-like attire. In his hands were two ties. One purple and one dark blue. One belonging to Spencer and one to Hotch.

“Y-yesterday you said y-you would wear my tie. D-do you still want to?” Spencer asked looking up nervously, clearly afraid of rejection.

“Of course.” Hotch smiled, grabbing the brightly colored tie and expertly looping his around his neck into a perfect knot. He knew it stood out against his plain black suit, but he didn’t mind. If it made Spencer happy, he would wear a swimsuit to work.

Spencer smiled at his boyfriend before taking Hotch’s tie and tying it around himself. His knot was not a neat and a bit crooked so Hotch reached over to set it straight.

“There.” He smiled, pulling it tight. “Now we are matching.”

“Technically to be matching we need to have a color, pattern, design, or graphic, in common.” Spencer said, clearly confused.

“Yes, well we are wearing each other’s ties. That’s close enough.

Hotch never would have thought he liked wearing someone else’s but he did. It was like having a little piece of Spencer with him throughout the day. He didn’t even mind the looks he was getting for the brightly colored fabric from the rest of the team. He liked it.

Once they arrived, Morgan was already waiting by his office door.

Hotch gave Spencer’s shoulder a soft squeeze which was the closest thing he could give to a hug goodbye in the formal setting. “See you soon.”

Spencer nodded and pushed his sunglasses back up his face. They were the same ones he had worn when he was high on dilaudid but were now being used to block the hang over.

Hotch made his way up the stairs and met the other agent.

“Morgan.” He nodded in greeting.

“Hotch.” Derek replied.

They made their way into the office and Hotch sat down at the desk with Derek across from him.

“We need to talk about Spencer.” Morgan started the conversation.

“Yes, we do.” Hotch replied. “I can’t believe you let him drink! He’s not 21!”

“He’s a teenager Hotch. He needs to be able to experiment and make his own mistakes.”

“He’s recovering from a drug addiction. You cannot give him alcohol.”

“This is the problem man!” Morgan said, beginning to get a bit fired up. “You don’t control him! He’s not you son.”

“W-what?! I know that!” Hotch said, clearly taken aback by the comment.

“Then act like it! You don’t control what he does. Let him make his own decisions.”

“I do!” Hotch hadn’t expected that he would be on the defense in this conversation but here they were.

“No you don’t. You are somewhere between a partner and a parent.” Derek said.

“He’s young, I’m just trying to help him.”

“If he’s so young then maybe you shouldn’t be dating him!”

There was a long silence, neither man speaking. The tension was tick as honey as the weight of their conversation began to sit in.

Luckily, they were interrupted by JJ poking her head inside the office. “Meeting in the conference room in 15” she said.

“Look man.” Morgan said, standing up to go. “I’m glad you are both happy together, but you need to let him be a teenage while he can. Don’t dictate his life for him.”

“I know.” Hotch nodded. “I want what’s best for him.”

“As do I.”

“If you ever get him drunk again, I don’t want to know about it.”

“I think we can manage that.” Morgan nodded with a slight chuckle.

“You’re lucky I didn’t report you for supplying alcohol to a minor.” 

“Ried said it was legal! Something about legal guardians and private property!” Morgan protested.

  
“Don’t believe everything he tells you.”

“That little shit.” Morgan chuckled.

“As much as I hate to admit it, Spencer is a fun drunk though. Very cuddly.” Hotch smiled fondly at the memory.

“You don’t know the half of it man” Morgan laughed. “He went on a 30-minute rant about the mathematical perfections of your face. He even did some karaoke.”

“Is he any good?”  
  


“No.” Morgan smiled at the memory.

“We should get to that meeting. We have a case.” Hotch said, standing up and smoothing out his suit and taking care to straighten the purple tie.

Morgan looked at it for a second before smiling knowingly. “Nice tie”

“Get back to work.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LMK what you think! Thanks for reading!!


	12. Chapter 12

“There has been a double murder in Boston.” JJ started the explanation but was quickly cut off by Reid.

“Boston? Isn’t that where you just were?” He asked Hotch.

“Yes. I spoke to an agent I used to work with. Wheels up in 20.” He said, quickly gathering his jacket and file before exiting the room, clearly bothered by something.

“What happened in Boston?” Morgan asked Reid who only shrugged and grabbed his own file and satchel before following after his boyfriend.

“What’s going on Aaron- I mean Hotch?” Spencer asked. He had followed the man up the stairs to his office and watched as he began quickly sorting through a mountain of documents that looked at least 20 years old.

“The Boston Reaper.” He replied, not looking up.

“The Reaper? The serial killer who went on a killing spree 20 years ago? He was never caught. He was suspended to have died or arrested for unrelated causes.

“He wasn’t. And now he’s back.”

“Are you sure it’s not a copy-cat?”

“Why are you asking so many questions?” Hotch snapped, finally turning to face the teen. Spencer flinched when the man raised his voice. He knew Hotch would never hit him but years of abuse had made him associate frustration with pain.

“S-sorry sir.” He said, looking down at the floor.

Hotch wanted to kick himself. He hated being the cause of those sad puppy eyes.

“No, I’m sorry Spence. Come here.” He said, holding his arms out. Spencer quickly crossed the room and melted into the hug offered to him. “I’m sorry I shouted. This was one of my first cases and something just feels… wrong about it. I don’t know what though. I shouldn’t have yelled at you.”

“It’s alright.” Spencer said, looking up at him with a small smile.

“It’s not. I’m sorry.”

“Raising of volume in the vocal cords is a healthy and normal way of alleviating frustration and stress. It’s better than holding it inside which can lead to more pent-up anger and passive aggression.” Spencer said.

“Right.” Hotch nodded. Sometimes he didn’t know what to do with all the random facts and information thrown at him but tried to keep them stored in his brain. Sometimes he would use some of the knowledge he’d learned from his boyfriend on a case and Spencer’s face would always melt into a proud smile.

“So…wheels up in 14 minutes and 38 seconds right.” Spencer asked once he was released from the embrace.

“Nope. 14 minutes and 52 seconds till wheels up. Your internal clock must be wrong.” Hotch teased. He quickly clarified his intentions at the look of utter panic Spencer wore at the suggestion his brain clock might be wrong. “I’m joking love. You’re right. You’re always right.”

“Not always.”

“Name one time you’ve been wrong?”

“I thought you would never want to date me.” Spencer said softly.

Hotch’s face formed a fond smile. “Sometimes being wrong is a good thing.”

\--

“He leaves an object from a previous victim on the body of the latest victim. We are looking for a most likely white man in his late 40s or early 50s.” Hotch finished giving the profile before dismissing the officers and his team.

“There has been another victim. Two victims actually. An elderly man and woman.” JJ walked informed them.

“Ross and Morgan come with me. JJ and Prentiss go find the families. Reid, stay here and work on the geographical profile.” Hotch ordered. Everyone nodded and did as they were told.

Spencer walked off to the conference room they were using with an uneasy feeling in his stomach. Something wasn’t right about this case. He could feel it in his gut. He had been on edge ever since they had arrived in Boston. Not only was he worried about the case but there had been an officer staring at him the entire time he had been giving the profile.

He jumped with a start at a shill noise behind him that turned out to be Garcia calling back with information on the only living victim of the Reaper, George Foyet.

“He’s completely disappeared. No house, no bank accounts, no cars, nothing. He must think the Reaper is coming back for him.” The blonde spoke.

“I don’t blame him. If I was stabbed repeatedly, I wouldn’t want to see the unsub again either.” Reid nodded.

“I will continue my search and-” Garcia started to hang up but Reid stopped her.

“Wait! Can you look up this Boston PD badge number for me? 459203.” He asked.

“Sure, thing Wonder Boy” She said typing away. “Do you think he might have something to do with the case?”

“I’m not sure. The officer kept looking at me weirdly the entire time we were giving the profile.” He replied.

“Well, it says here he lived in California until a year ago and was enrolled in university when the first murders look place. Squeaky clean record as well. I don’t think he’s our guy.” Penelope said.

“They why do you think he was looking at me?”

“I’ve got a picture here of him with an ex-boyfriend in college so I’m assuming he’s gay. Maybe he thought you were cute!”

Spencer almost choked on the coffee he had been sipping. “W-what? He’s like twice my age?!”

“So is your boyfriend” Garcia laughed on the other end of the line.

“Well… yeah but that’s different.”

“Is it?”

  
“Yeah! Because it’s Hotch.” Spencer replied as though it were obvious.

“Alright whatever honeybear. Garcia out!” She said hanging up.

Spencer shook his head fondly. How did she have so much energy at so late at night? It was nearly 11 already. Speaking of it being late, the rest of the team should be returning soon.

Reid heard the sound of the door opening behind him and tuned, expecting to see a stressed and stern Hotch but instead was greeted by the man that would not stop looking at him.

“H-hello?” Spencer said, suddenly feeling nervous.

“Spencer, right?” The man asked.

“SSA Dr. R-Reid.” Spencer replied. He knew no one took him seriously but liked to be called his official title just to give him a bit of an edge.

“Okay Spencer.” The man ignored him. “I’m Officer Weston.” He said, walking fully into the room and closer to Spencer.

“O-okay.” Spencer stuttered nervously.

“I was wondering if I could help you out.”

“Oh.” Reid said, surprised. “I…um…I think I’ve g-got the p-profile under c-control. T-Thanks though.” He said politely.

“I didn’t mean help with the profile.” He said in a low voice. He took a step closer to Spencer, and another, and another.

“W-what do you m-mean.”

  
“I think you know.” Weston said taking another step, so they were not touching. His body was pressed against Spencer’s as he began backing him against the wall.

Not again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long! We are diving back into the angst again!! LMK what you think!!


	13. Chapter 13

“Garcia sent the information on Foyet. He seems to have done a good job at staying off the grid.” Hotch said, flipping through the papers that had been faxed over to them as he and Rossi entered the station.

“Can you blame the guy? The Reaper killed his fiancé and stabbed him 60 times.” Rossi replied.

Hotch nodded in agreement and check his watch. It was nearly 2 in the morning. They needed to call it a night or the team would be to tired to get anything done in the morning. “Tell Morgan, JJ, and Prentiss to head back to the hotel. I’ll find Reid.”

  
Rossi nodded and they went their separate ways.

Most of the officers had left at that point. There were a few sitting around that had been unlucky enough to be on the night shift, but the majority of detectives had left. The unit chief made his way towards the conference room.

Something was wrong. The lights of the room Reid had set up in were dim. All the shades were pulled down and the door was closed. Hotch’s first through was that Reid was having a panic attack of sorts or possible experiencing more withdrawal symptoms (though he had been doing well lately.)

He walked quickly towards the door and pulled it open. He had expected to see Spencer in tears, possible throwing up or something. What he had not expected to see was Spencer, face completely blank except for a few tears, with his back pressed up against the wall. There was a tall man that was rubbing against him, his mouth was attached to Spencer’s neck and it was clear the teen was far from enjoying himself.

Hotch wished he could remember the next few minutes. He wished he could remember the feeling of his fist smashing into the disgusting creature that had assaulted his boyfriend. In honesty, all he remembered was seeing red, first from anger, then from the blood on his hands.

Hotch was pulled off the man by some other officers rushing into the room.

“You low piece of shit! Get me the captain!” Hotch shouted, trying to pull away from the officers holding him back. He wished Morgan was here. The other agent would be on his side and would do more than just break the man’s nose like Hotch had done.

“That FBI guy just came in an attacked me!” The man shouted back, attempting to play the victim.

“Officer Weston! Out of the room.” The captain of the precinct ordered as he entered the room.

Weston and the other officers exited the room immediately, not wanting to get fired.

“What happened.” Captain Evans asked Hotch.

“I walked in on your officer assaulting my agent!” Hotch shouted, still fuming.

“Is this true?” Evans asked, turning to Spencer. Hotch turned to look at him for the first time as well.

Reid was still frozen in place where he had been when Hotch entered the room. There was a single tear on his cheek but other than that he wore no expression. His eyes were blank, and his mouth was closed.

“Spence? Can you tell us what happened?” Aaron asked, his voice softer than it had been in the last few minutes.

Spencer only gave a small shrug, looking down at the floor.

“I can’t discipline an officer without a testimony.”

“I saw him! I am the Unit Chief of the BAU, isn’t my witness enough?” Hotch asked, fuming.

“I will need Mr. Reid here to testify if you want to press changes. You can come see me in the morning if you prefer.” The man said before turning and walking out the door.

“Dr. Reid.” Aaron huffed under his breath.

Hotch was mad. Mad at the Reaper, mad at the captain, mad at the fucking excuse for a human that had touched his precious boyfriend. He knew he needed to calm down though. He had learned from experience that anytime he was mad, Spencer automatically assumed the anger was directed at him. He took a deep breath before turning to the teen.

“Spence? Are you okay?” He asked.

Reid didn’t speak, just gave a short nod. He didn’t look up either just kept staring at the floor.

“Can you talk to me please? You don’t have to tell me what happened yet if you don’t want to, I just need to hear you say something.” Hotch said, getting more and more worried. He had been expecting tears, sobs, some sort of reaction. The numb expression was scaring him.

“C-can we g-go to the hotel.” Spencer said eventually in barely over a whisper.

“Yeah. Let’s go.” Hotch nodded. He grabbed Spencer’s satchel as well as his own briefcase. He held out his hand for Spencer to hold and the teen tentatively took it. It was usual for Hotch to permit any sort of non-platonic touch in the workplace, but he figured now was a good a time as any to make an exception.

Spencer still refused to speak again the whole ride to the hotel. Once they arrived to their room he quickly slipped into the bathroom without a word. Hotch set down their things and walked across the hall to talk to Morgan.

He knocked twice and waited until a tired looking Derek answered the door wearing only sweatpants.

“It’s 3 in the morning man.” He said with a yawn.

“A police officer assaulted Spencer.”

Morgan was not wide awake. Awake and furious. “Who?! I Swear to god I’ll kill them.”

“We will deal with him in the morning. What I’m worried about now is Spencer. He’s hardly said a word since I found him, and his face is blank. I’ve never seen him like this before.” Hotch admitted worriedly.

“Why can’t this kid catch a break?”

“Everything bad that could ever happen to a person happens to him.” Hotch nodded.

“Well, that’s not completely true, he’s got you.” Morgan pointed out.

“Yeah, I suppose. Sometimes I don’t think I’m good enough for him. I should have found out about the drugs sooner. I should have walked in on him and that officer sooner.”

“You can’t blame yourself for that man. Focus on the fact that you DID eventually find out about the dilaudid. You DID get that creep off of him.” Morgan replied.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” He nodded. “I just wanted to let you know what happened. I’ll let you get back to sleep now.”

“Just be there for him Hotch. He may not want to talk so just make sure you’re there for him.” Morgan said before retreating back into his hotel room.

Hotch walked down the hall to his room as well. Once inside he saw Spencer holding the hotel phone up to his ear. He seemed white as a sheet.

“Spence? Who is it?” Hotch asked, walking over to him.

Spencer held the phone out in his shaking hand indicating that it was for Hotch. “I-it’s the R-reaper.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!! Let me know what you think!!


	14. Chapter 14

Hotch slowly lowered the phone from his ear.

“W-what did he want?” Spencer asked shakily.

“He offered me the deal.” Hotch replied.

“What deal?”

“He said he would stop killing if we stopped looking for him.” Hotch said. He ran a hand through his hair anxiously. He had never felt so nervous while on a case. Well, the wasn’t completely true. He had almost had a heart attack from the stress when Spencer was kidnapped but with was a different kind of concern.

“You d-didn’t take it, right?” Spencer asked.

“No. I didn’t.”

“Good.” Was all Spencer said before turning and climbing into the hotel bed. There was only one king bed in the room since he and Hotch had started sharing a bed a while ago.

“Do you want me to sleep on the couch?” Hotch asked carefully. Despite what had just happened with the reaper, he had not forgotten about what the police officer had done to Spencer. He was sure the teen was still freaked out and being affected by it.

“You want t-to sleep on the couch?” Spencer asked, looking up with a completely crestfallen look on his face.

“No. But if you aren’t comfortable with me being in bed with you I will happily give you space.” Hotch replied.

“I didn’t w-want him to d-do it!” Spencer spoke, sounding like he was beginning to panic. “I didn’t w-want it I swear! I d-didn’t mean to c-cheat on you!”

“Woah Spence! I know you didn’t want it! And of course, you didn’t cheat on me” Hotch replied. He walked over to the teen, getting close enough so he could offer comfort but not so close that he made Reid feel trapped.

“I know I’m disgusting! I-I’m sorry. But I w-wasn’t as bad as it was w-with James! I p-promise he didn’t go inside me.”

Hotch heart broke more and more with every word that left the boy’s mouth. “Spencer can you look at me please?”

It took nearly a whole minute, but Reid eventually managed to pull his watery eyes to meet the older man’s.

“You are **not** disgusting.” Aaron said firmly, not breaking eye contact. “Do you understand.”

“I’m s-sorry.” Spencer repeated again through tears.

“No Spence. You don’t need to be sorry. Those bastards should be sorry. And they will be. We are going to get that guy to touched you today fired and your trial for James is in a week. We will get him locked up for a long time.” Aaron reassured. He slowly reached a hand out to take Spencer’s shaking one in his. “You are not disgusting. They are disgusting.”

“B-but I c-cheated-”

“No.” Hotch cut him off, shaking his head before he could finish the thought. “You didn’t cheat on me. My ex-wife, Haley, she cheated on me. It was willing and she knew what she was doing. You didn’t choose for that man to touch you. You, Didn’t. Cheat.”

Spencer looked like he wanted to argue more but instead took a shaky breath and nodded. “Thank you.” He mumbled.

“No need to thank me darling. I’m here for you.” He said with a soft smile.

They both climbed into the bed and Spencer immediately snuggled close to his boyfriend. “What are you g-gonna do about the reaper?” Spencer asked once they were both comfortable.

“We are going to catch him and lock him up.” He replied simply.

He was going to catch him or die trying.

\---

“We need to find Foyet. He told us he only takes the bus and the shooting on the D line must be a message. The Reaper is going to try to kill Foyet.” Hotch said. “Let’s split up. JJ and Rossi to the first house. Rossi and I will go to the second. Morgan and Reid to the third.”

Everyone jumped into action, grabbing there gear and heading out to the SUVs. Hotch stopped Morgan before they could exit the police building. “Look after him. I wouldn’t be putting him in the field unless we really needed him.”

“I will.” Morgan nodded firmly before they split up and all drove off, sirens blaring.

“We are just looking for Foyet to get him into protective custody. That’s our goal. Don’t do anything stupid.”

“I’m a certified genius. Have I ever done anything stupid?”

“Yes.” Morgan said without hesitation.

They eventually made it to the small blue house and made their way up to the door. Immediately something felt wrong. The door was wide open, and it looked like there had been a scuffle.

“Stay behind me.” Morgan said, pulling out his gun and stepping forward, beginning to check the room.

Spencer drew his gun as well and looked around.

“This room is clear. You stay here while I check the rest. Call for back up and forensics.”

Spencer didn’t argue. He pulled out his phone and began to diel Hotch’s number. Before he could press the call button, he felt something, or someone, slamming against him. He tried to draw his gun but before he could, he felt himself falling back through a layer of glass.

Then everything went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one is a little short. I wanted to end with another fun cliffhanger that im sure you all LOVE😂 thanks for reading!!


	15. Chapter 15

Hotch drove faster than he ever had. He easily passed 100 mph, ran red lights like they were nothing, and nearly hit several mailboxes. He eventually skidded to a stop in front of one of George Foyet’s houses. All he had been told was that there as a body found and agents injured. It was the house Spencer and Morgan had been sent to.

He climbed out of the SUV and ran up the stairs two at a time. He saw a body bag and his gut clenched. He had seen Spencer’s dead body once before and didn’t care to see it again. He went up to the officers dealing with forensics and motioned for them open the bad. They did, pulling the zipper down agonizingly slow and revealing that it was neither Spencer nor Morgan inside. He released a breath, relaxing only the slightest bit before turning and making his way into the house.

The first thing he way was Morgan, alive and well, pacing back and forth, appearing both worried and angry at the same time.

“Morgan!” Hotch called out, waling over to him.

“I swear Hotch man, I thought he was safe! I was gone for two seconds; he was supposed to be calling-” He started but was cut off by his superior.

“Is he alright Morgan?” Hotch spoke firmly.

“Back there with the medics. Wanted me to wait out here.” Morgan said, clearly upset that Spencer didn’t want him in the room no matter the reason.

Hotch nodded, squeezing Morgan’s shoulder once in comfort. He knew the man was blaming himself for everything. Hell, Hotch was even a bit pissed at him for not watching the teen better but he didn’t need him distracted right now. They needed to be focused.

Aaron walked over to the door that the medics were behind. He knocked twice. “Spencer? It’s Agent Hotchner. Can I come in?”

There was a noise of agreement and Hotch entered. “You don’t have t-to say your whole name and title. I know who you are.” Spencer said with a pained smile.

Hotch scanned him up and down to assess his injuries. The biggest issue seemed to be the dozens of little shards of glass cutting into his back and arm from his collision with the window. There was a slight cut on his cheek as well but overall, he seemed like he would be alright.

Hotch had only seen Spencer completely shirtless two or three times but he had never seen him in this lighting. There were hundreds of scars and marks scattered across his body. Some of them he vividly remembered Hankel inflicting on him, others he could only assume came from his time in foster care. He understood why he hadn’t wanted Morgan to be in the room.

“How are you feeling?” Hotch asked. He walked forward and grabbed onto the teens hand. Spencer immediately squeezed it tightly, wincing at the pain.

“F-fine.” He lied. “How is Morgan?”

“He’s alright. Worried, but okay.”

“Did you get the Reaper?”

“No. He got Foyet as well.” Aaron replied.

“He took my credentials.” Spencer said, looking down at his converse sadly.

“We can get you a new one.” Hotch replied. He reached up and cupped Spencer’s cheek and running his thumb over it in a comforting motion.

“I know.” He nodded, still sad. He had worked hard to get where he was in the FBI and he hated the fact that someone had taken the only proof of it he had. He felt like without his badge, no one would believe that he could do this job. “He would have killed me if I wasn’t unconscious.”

Hotch visibly winced at the thought. “Let’s not talk about that right now.”

\---

“It’s Spence again.” JJ smiled fondly as her phone rang. Hotch had told (forced) Spencer to wait at the hotel for the rest of the case. He didn’t want Spencer getting hurt anymore. The teen had not like this and had taken to calling the team every couple of minutes to see if any progress had been made.

Hotch accepted the call on speaker phone and played the device on the table next to the computer Garcia’s face was on.

“Anything new?” Reid asked immediately.

“We are just taking another look at victimology.” JJ said, looking over the board covering in the pictures of the victims for the hundredth time.

“And we haven’t been able to find Foyet. The blood in the house was his so the Reaper must have him.” Hotch added.

“Have you looked into Foyet’s life? Not just the basics, really looked?” Spencer asked, beginning to formulate a theory in his head that was so crazy it just might be true.

“Garcia?” Hotch asked, turning to the computer.

“I have his information, but we didn’t have a reason to go through it too carefully.” She stated before beginning to type away at her keyboard. “It looked like he’s been a TA in several school and was oh…”

“What?” Hotch asked.

“He was fired from one of his jobs for acting inappropriately with a young female student.” She said.

“That would explain the time he takes with his younger victims.” Spencer said through the phone.

“You can’t be thinking-” Morgan started but was cut off.

“What about his fiancé?” Hotch asked.

“She was a student in his class and…they only knew each other for three weeks?” The blonde continued.

“They how were they engaged? He called her the love of his life. Unless…”

“Foyet’s the Reaper.” Hotch stated, grabbing his coat and heading towards the SUV.

\---

The rest of the case went as well as it could have. They managed to capture Foyet and send him to prison. He would not be free for a long time.

Against his better judgment, Hotch had agreed to let Spencer fly and they had made it home safely. Everything was fine at first. Hotch and Spencer were cuddled close together on the couch watching some 80s movie that Aaron had insisted was a classic, but Spencer found rather boring. But he didn’t mind. He was perfectly happy to rest his head on his boyfriend’s chest and drift off to sleep. That was until he jolted awake at the sound of a phone raining.

Hotch, who had fallen asleep as well, pulled himself up off the couch. His hair was a mess and his clothes were wrinkled but he kissed Spencer’s head, got up, and went to pick up the phone.

Spencer tried to hear the conversation but was still too sleepy to make deductions.

“Who was that?” Spencer asked with a yawn as Hotch entered the room.

There was no reply, so Spencer turned to face him. “Aaron?”

“Damn it!” Hotch shouted suddenly. He threw his phone on the nearby couch in anger.

“Hey?! What happened?” Spencer asked, alarmed. Hotch was never like this. He was usually calm and collected.

“He got out! He planned it!” Aaron replied, balling his hands into fists at his sides.

“Foyet?”

“Yes! George fucking Foyet! He planned it. He tricked me.” He shouted.

“Calm down-” Spencer tried to calm him.

“No! He killed all those people because of me! He’s going to keep killing because of me!”

“Aaron please just-”

“Just what?!”

That was when Spencer flinched, and reality came tumbling back to Hotch. Spencer had thought he was going to hit him.

“Spence?”  
  


“I’m sorry. It’s just a reflex.” Spencer spoke softly, looking down.

“I won’t hit you.” Hotch said.

“I know.” Spencer nodded.

“I just…I can’t believe he got out.” Hotch sagged into a sitting position on the couch. He ran a hand over his face, further messing up his dark hair.

“We’ll get him…love.” Spencer said, the pet name sounding foreign in his mouth. It made a fond smile come to the older man’s face.

“Love?” Hotch chuckled tiredly. “I remember how hard it was to get you to call me Hotch when we first met instead of Mr. Hotchner. Not to mention how long it took for you to call me Aaron.”

“I think I’ll let you take care of the nicknames.” Spencer smiled. He sat down next to Hotch and snuggled close, melting into Hotch who wrapped an arm around him.

“It’ll be okay.” Spencer mumbled into him. “Forget about Foyet for now.”

“I don’t know if I can.”

“Just for tonight. You can get to work on catching him tomorrow. You are tired and I have glass in my arm. Let’s just go to bed?”

“Your injuries still hurt?” Hotch asked, following Spencer’s lead and making their way towards the bedroom.

“I’ll be alright. But you know what the only heal for a boo boo is?” He said with a cheeky smile.

“What?” Hotch asked, stooping the teen in his tracks and pulling him close, hands on his waist.

“A kiss.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long!! LMK what you think!!!


	16. Chapter 16

“Hey kid what time should I come over-” Morgan said, walking over and leaning against Spencer’s desk. He did not get to finish because the younger agent cut him off.

“Shh!” Spencer said, looking around frantically to make sure no one had heard. “It’s a surprise! I told you that in the memo.”

“Right my bad.” Morgan nodded, turning to make sure Hotch was still filling out paperwork in his office. “So what time?” He said softly.

“Well, if you had read the memo…” Spencer huffed sarcastically. “You would know that everyone is coming over at 6. I’ll keep Hotch busy here then bring him back to the house at around 6:18.”

Morgan wanted to comment that most people would just round up to 6:20 but just shook his head fondly. “Alright. I’ll be there.”

Spencer smiled happily and attempted to get back to work. Unfortunately, he kept getting distracted. Today was Hotch’s birthday. The older man had insisted it wasn’t a big deal and they didn’t need to celebrate but Spencer wanted to do something special for him especially since Aaron had made such a big deal for his 18th birthday.

Not only that, but Aaron had been practically drowned in stress and work as of late. He had not only been taking on the usual case load but tracking the Reaper as well. He barely had any time to rest, and Spencer missed spending time with him.

So tonight, he had planned the prefect party for his perfect boyfriend. He knew better than to make it too over to over the top. He had invited the whole team, downloaded some Beatles songs for background music, and had but Rossi in charge dinner. Morgan and Garcia would be bringing drinks and Spencer had purchased some blue streamers and balloons that Morgan would set up when they arrived early. He didn’t know what Hotch’s favorite color was but the man seemed to wear dark blue quite a bit so he went with that.

The rest of the day went smoothly. When 5:30 rolled around, the team slowly began to pack up and leave as it was a Friday and they didn’t have a case. They all sent smiles and winks to Spencer as they passed.

Spencer had long since finished his work and was reading through old cold cases for fun. At 6:00 he packed up his bag and padded up to his boss’s office and walked in. “Hey Aaron-”

“It’s Hotch at work. And you need to knock before you enter.” He said, not even looking up.

“Right. Sorry sir.” Spencer said, slightly taken aback.

“What can I do for you.” Hotch didn’t mean to be so brisk with the teen. He knew Spencer wasn’t doing anything wrong, but he couldn’t help it. It had been a long. And on top of everything, it was his birthday. He had never liked his birthday growing up. His parents never really celebrated it.

“It’s 6. We leave at 6 on Fridays, remember?” Spencer asked, bighting his lip nervously.

“Not tonight.” Hotch still refused to look his boyfriend in the eye. He continued to ignore and flip through his papers.

  
“Why not?”

“Because I’m working. You can go home with Morgan is you are ready to leave.”

“Please? We need to-”

“We will leave when I am done!” Hotch said, finally looking up.

Spencer hated when Hotch snapped at it. It became more and more frequent with stress, so it had occurred quite a bit lately. Normally it was followed by an apology.

“Sorry.” Hotch sighed, though he didn’t really sound sorry. “Let’s go.”

Spencer nodded, afraid to break the delicate silence. For the whole drive home, no one spoke. Spencer just looked down at his hands and Hotch’s eyes remained glued on the road.

They eventually pulled up in front of the house. There was a moment where neither moved and Spencer thought Aaron was going to speak but he didn’t. He opened the door and stepped out of the car, walking up the front steps.

Spencer scrambled to follow. He wanted to be there for the big moment. “Wait up!” He called out.

Hotch seemed like he wanted to speak yet again but chose to hold his tongue.

“Ready?” Spencer asked, unlocking the door with the key Hotch had given him.

“For what? I just want to have a glass of wine and go to bed.”

“Oh. Well… you’ll see.” Spencer said, beginning to doubt his decision. What if Hotch hated it? What if he was mad at Spencer?

Before the teen could spiral more, they stepped into the dark house and the lights flicked on with a shout of “Surprise!”

Hotch’s first instinct was to reach for his gun at the sudden noise but soon realized it was the team and withdrew his hand from inside his coat.

“You…You threw me a party?” Hotch blinked in surprise.

“Yeah. I-Is that ok? I know you said you-” Spencer started but was cut off by Hotch pulling him into a kiss. There were some whistles from the team at the sudden PDA of their usually stoic boss but neither of them cared.

“Thank you darling” Hotch smiled. “It’s perfect. You’re perfect. I’m sorry for snapping at you earlier.” He whispered into his ear.

“It’s alright” Spencer replied, having already forgiven him.

The party went well. They all talked and laughed and enjoyed Rossi’s delicious cooking. Hotch was shocked to find that they had all gotten him presents. He got a couple of dark colored ties and a new book on law. When it came time for Spencer to give him his gift, the teen nervously handed him a small, sloppily wrapped box with a loose ribbon on the top. Spencer was not particularly gifted in the arts and crafts department.

“What is it?” Morgan asked. They were all still seated around the dinner table drinking an expensive bottle of wine. All but Spencer. Hotch had given him a look when he reached for the bottle.

“I sure do wish there was a way to know what people got you. If only there was a way to open it up?” Rossi said sarcastically.

Hotch shook his head at his team and got to work carefully opening the wrapped gift. Once he pulled back the paper, he found a small, fancy leather box. It appeared to be from a jewelry store of some kind. It was larger than a ring box but not much. He carefully pulled the lid off to reveal a very shiny, very nice, very expensive looking silver watch. The was incredibly well crafted. When he lifted it out of the box, he saw there was an inscribing etched into the bottom of it.

_I love you every minute, second, hour, and day_

_-Spence_

Hotch looked up. Had they not been in front of the team, he would have shed a few tears. “Oh Spence.”

“Do you like it?” He asked nervously.

“Like it? I love it! And I love you.” Hotch said. He clasped the thick watch onto his wrist and placed a kiss on Spencer’s head.

Hotch had never like his birthdays before. But tonight had been good. Amazing really.

Maybe he didn’t hate his birthday after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's a little bit of fluff for you all!! Thanks for reading! LMK what you think!


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: abuse and rape mentioned

“Do you want to go through it again?” Hotch said, shuffling the pile of papers in front of him into the right order.

“I have memorized what I am going to say. Going over it again won’t change anything.” Spencer replied. They were currently sitting in Hotch’s study. Well, Hotch was sitting at his desk. Spencer was on the floor, half sitting half laying on the carpet with Walt curled up next to him. The teen had found it easier to deliver his practice testimony without looking at his boyfriend.

“I know. I just want to make sure you feel confident. There is nothing to be worried about. All you have to do it go up to the stand when you are called, tell them what happened, then you can leave. It is highly unlikely that the defense will ask you any questions as it will only hurt his case.” Hotch replied.

“I know.” Reid repeated, still staring at the carpet. He hadn’t been his usual talkative self lately and it worried the older man greatly. He let out a small sight before standing from his desk and joining the other agent on the floor. “hey.” He smiled.

“Hey.” Spencer said, finally looking up. Hotch looked a bit out of place sitting on the floor in his suit that he had worn to work.

“I know this is hard. But you are so strong. And after this, James will be locked up for some time. You will be saving other foster kids like you from being abused by him.” Aaron reached over and took Spencer’s smaller hand in his, giving it a squeeze. “I’m proud to be your boyfriend.”

Spencer smiled shyly. “Thanks. I’m ready to just get this over with.”

“Me too.” Aaron agreed, before standing back up. “I’m going to get dinner started. I’ll give you some time to sort through your thoughts.” He said before walking out of the room.

Spencer let out a breath that he didn’t know he had been holding. It had been a rough couple days. He had told Aaron every single thing that James had ever done to him. Thanks to his eidetic memory, he could still remember every moment in vivid detail.

But that hadn’t even been the worst part. Spencer stood and walked over to the desk that held the file of papers in pictures. The pictures were of Spencer. He had made sure to document every single injury he had received while staying with his foster father and they had been printed out and put into the evidence file. Spencer still remembered the look on Hotch’s face when Spencer had shown him the dozens and dozens of photos. The older man looked like he had wanted to cry.

But it would all be over soon. He just needed to make it through the next day.

\---

Had Spencer not been filled with stress about his testimony, he would have found Hotch in the court room extremely hot. It was like watching one of those professional chess matches, filled with strategy and passion. Aaron carried a fire in his eyes that Spencer had never seen before. Hotch wasn’t fighting for his own life. He was fighting for Spencer. 

His awe turned to nerves when Hotch finally turned to him after nearly an hour. His eyes softened a bit as he spoke the words, “I would like to call Dr. Spencer Reid to the stand.”

Spencer forgot how to move for a moment. Morgan, who was sitting next to him, gently nudged his side, helping him to his feet. “You’ve got this pretty boy.” He whispered.

Spencer somehow managed to make his way up the isle and to the stand. He was sworn in with shaky hands. Hotch made his way in front of the teen and tried to give him a reassuring smile that said, _everything will be okay_.

“Dr. Reid, could you please recount both how your relationship with Mr. Atkinson began and the nature of it.”

Spencer took a deep breath. Just like they had practiced. He could do this.

“I was put into the care of James Atkinson about two years ago. It began when I was offered a position with the FBI and I needed to complete their training requirements which take over a year. My social worker gave me the only available home in DC which was with James. I-I mean Mr. A-Atkinson” Spencer corrected. He was told it was better to use last names. “From the beginning he was negligent and did not give me food or clothing. He began to…”

He had to take another breath here. This was where it got hard. He looked back to Hotch who was still trying to send encouragement through his eyes and to Morgan, who was the only member of the team he had allowed to come. He didn’t want all his co-workers knowing his business.

“Mr. Atkinson began to touch me. He a-abused me mentally, physically a-and sexually. He would rape me and hit me. He only gave me food if I completed tasks for him.” Spencer kept going. He was almost done. “When I began to work, he stole my pay checks. And he abused my dog” Spence finished. Hotch had told him the last part was unnecessary for their case but Spencer insisted on getting, as he called it, “justice for Walter.”

Hotch stood again. “If the jury needs any more evidence, they should turn to documents 7 though 28 of their files where they will find photos of the abuse inflicted on Dr. Reid.” Aaron said. “Thank you, your Honor. No more questions.”

Spencer released another breath and stood to get up but was interrupted. “The defense had some questions for Mr. Reid.” James’s lawyer spoke up as he stood.

Reid quickly turned to Hotch. Aaron had told him the other lawyer wouldn’t question him. So why was he? What if he said something wrong? He couldn’t to this!

Hotch slowly moved his hand in a motion that told him to take a breath. “You can do this.” He mouthed.

Spencer nodded. Truthfully, he didn’t think he could, but he was willing to try. It wasn’t like he had another choice.

“Mr. Reid.” The man started.

Spencer inwardly winced at the word “Mr.” He had earned his PhDs and he wanted to be treated accordingly not matter his age. He looked the man up and down and, as if by habit, profiled him. His suit looked cheap, and his watch was fake. He looked like he was losing money and, judging by the way his phone kept going off, was losing it on betting on horses.

“You grew up in Las Vegas. Is that correct?”

“Yes.” Spencer said slowly, not sure why that was relevant.

“And your mother is Diana Reid?”

“Objection.” Hotch stood. “How is this relevant to the charges pressed against James Atkinson?”

“Overruled. Continue with caution.” The judge spoke.

Aaron did not look happy at that but again took his seat.

“Your answer?”

“Yes.” Spencer nodded.

“And is it true that she was diagnosed with Schizophrenia?” He said, in a cocky tone.

Spencer felt his mouth go dry. He gave a meek nod.

“Let the record show Mr. Reid had nodded.” The lawyer said. He then turned to the jury. “Schizophrenia is proven to be passed on genetically. So how are we to know that Mr. Reid here is telling the truth? Isn’t it possible that he could have inflicted these injuries on himself then lied about it? We cannot take his word on this. His mother was locked away like a crazy person and there is no doubt his is going the same way.”

“Don’t talk about my mother.” Spencer said, standing. He didn’t shout but his voice was filled with ice. It was not a tone Hotch had ever heard him use before.

“Calm down Mr. Reid.”

Spencer narrowed his eyes even more. “This is calm, and it’s doctor.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Little disclaimer: everything I know about court and law comes from CM and legally blonde so most things are probably wrong but this is obviously a work of fiction so...whatever😂
> 
> lmk what you think!! thanks for reading!!


	18. Chapter 18

“Common kid, you have to eat something.” Morgan said, pushing Spencer’s sandwich closer to him but the teen just shook his head.

Spencer, Hotch, and Morgan were all sitting in the underwhelming food court in the courthouse. The jury was on break deliberating and they would be called back to court for the decision within the next house. Spencer had remained silent ever since his questioning. He didn’t like talking about his childhood. He especially didn’t like people calling his mother crazy. He had delt with that enough through high school.

“’m not hungry.” He mumbled.

“Come on Spence, you need to eat. Do you want some of my pasta instead?” Hotch offered his own plate.

Spencer looked at the dish for a few seconds, deliberating, before nodding. Hotch smiled and switched their plates.

They sat in silence in the food court for a couple minutes before Hotch finally broke the silence. “Any plans for the long weekend next week?”

“Well…” Morgan said, sending Spencer a pointed look. Reid shook his head with a smiled as if telling the other man, not now.

“What are you to planning?” Hotch asked in amusement.

“My buddy gave me three tickets to a resort in Cabo he works at. I was gonna bring Spence and Garcia.” Morgan replied.

“I wanted you to come too!” Spencer quickly added as if he was worried that Hotch would feel left out. “But you have that meeting with the director on Sunday.”

“It’s alright.” Hotch chuckled lightly.

“So…can I go?”

It took Hotch a moment to realize that Spencer was asking him permission. It reminded him yet again of how unconventional their relationship was. While they were equals, Hotch did have a protective role. He was older and felt like he had a responsibility to keep Reid safe more than he had in any of his other relationships. He though back to his talk with Morgan. Derrek was right; Hotch was a boyfriend, not a parent.

“It’s up to you love. You can make your own decisions.” Hotch said, though he really did want to say no. A weekend in Cabo was bad enough and Morgan and Garcia were not the ideal role models for a teenager.

“Oh.” Spencer replied, clearly not expecting that answer.

“I think you should come kid. You need to have more fun and it will be nice to have a break especially after all of this.” He said motioning to the courthouse. “Also” He added in a stage whisper. “The drinking age is 18.”

“I changed my mind!” Hotch said. “It’s my decision! He can’t go!”

“It will be fine Aaron.” Spencer smiled, knowing he was joking. “I think I’ll go.”

“Yes!” Morgan smiled.

Before Hotch could threaten Morgan to make sure Spencer was safe, the bell rang through the cafeteria signaling the jury was ready to announce their decision. Spencer turned a shade of white that didn’t seem possible.

“It’s alright Spence. Come on.” Hotch said, taking his hand as they all filed back into the crowded court room. Morgan and Spencer took their spots in the pews while Hotch sat in the front with the other lawyer.

There was a period of tense silence before they stood, and the judge entered again. Spencer felt like he couldn’t. He felt like there was something pressing down on his lungs.

Morgan saw Spencer from the corner of his eye and calmly wrapped an arm around him. “Deep breaths kid.” He whispered. Spencer nodded, focusing on breathing. He just wanted to leave. He wanted to go home. He wanted Hotch.

The jurors seemed to mumble to each other before the one at the front right stood. He cleared his throat. “The jury has found James Atkinson guilty on the charges pressed.”

All the pressure that had been built up in his chest for the last two years felt like it had been lifted. He couldn’t help but let a smile come to his face. Morgan gave him a soft squeeze, as smile on his face

Hotch wanted to jump over the wooden fence and pull Spencer into his arms. The kid had been through hell and back and he was finally going to get the justice that he deserved. Unfortunately, he had to stay in his seat until the court was officially dismissed. And it was a good thing he did.

Amid all the chaos, the security guard who was in charge of keeping James in his seat had gotten distracted. With a shout of outrage, James jumped to his feet, pushing through the people around him and lunging toward Spencer.

Hotch was on his feet in less than a second. He grabbed the man by the shirt collar, yanked him round so his face was pressed into the table, and pulled his hands behind his back. He didn’t have hand cuffs or a gun on him since he wasn’t on a case. It was probably a good thing because Hotch wasn’t sure if he would reach for the cuffs or his weapon first.

The guard that was supposed to be holding him quicky ran up and snapped restrains around James’s hands, before pulling him off to the side. The judge closed the case quickly and James was pulled off towards the jail where he would be locked up for a long time.

As he was guided out, he began shouting. “I’m gonna get you bitch boy! Just wait till I get out of here! You are going to regret this!”

Hotch quickly made his way to the pews where Spencer and Morgan where waiting. Hotch quickly pulled the teen into a hug.

“I wanna go home.” Was all Spencer said.

Hotch nodded, took his hand, and led him out of the court room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LMK what you think!!


	19. Chapter 19

“Sunblock?”

“Check”

“Toothbrush?”

“Check”

“Oxford English Dictionary Second Edition volume 1?”

“Spencer you don’t need a dictionary in Mexico.” Hotch chuckled, taking the large book out of the suitcase.

“Yes, I do!” Spencer set down his checklist he had been reading off of. “What if I forget the meaning of a word?”

“Have you ever forgotten a word before?”

“No, but-”

“You can look it up on your phone.” Hotch said, ruffling the teens hair. “And trust me, you will be having too much fun to sit around a read the dictionary.”

“You don’t _read_ the dictionary. It’s a reference book.” Spencer said as if it were obvious.

“Alright whatever.” Hotch rolled his eyes. “You have everything you need. We’ve checked eight times. Let’s just relax for the next thirty minutes before you have to go.” He moved the open suitcase from the bed to the floor and laid back on the mattress, Spencer quickly curling up next to him.

“Are you excited?”

“I’ve never been on a vacation before. Unless you count traveling for cases.” He replied. 

“No. I would not count hunting down serial killers as a vacation.”

“I wish you could come. It would be more fun.” Reid said for the hundredth time.

“I know but I have to work love. And Morgan and Garcia will be much more fun than your ancient old boyfriend.” Aaron joked, causing Reid to let out a giggle.

“You aren’t that old.” He smiled. “Besides, you should see the list of things Morgan wants to do. He wants to go surfing. Can you picture that? Me? Surfing?”

Hotch look a moment to visualize it before chuckling a bit to himself. It wasn’t that he doubted the teen’s abilities it was just the image of him standing on a board in the ocean man him look so out of place. “Give it a try. You’re only young once.”

Hotch had been hoping Spencer would not back out of the trip. He was truthfully grateful the teen would be gone for a few days. He had been tracking the Foyet case and, if the bits and pieces of information he had been collecting where accurate, he was making his way towards Virginia. He hoped the man wasn’t stupid enough to attack an FBI agent but if he was…well maybe it was good for Spencer to have some time out of the country.

Their thoughts were interrupted by the doorbell.

“You get the door; I’ll grab your suitcase.” Hotch said. Spencer nodded and jumped to his feet, racing out the door. Hotch bent over and after a second of deliberation, put the dictionary back in the bag. If Spencer really wanted it who was he to stop him? Plus, Morgan would probably be the one to carry his bag anyway. He also slipped in one of his own FBI t-shirts that Spencer always stole from him in case the teen got homesick. He zipped up the bag and made his way to the door.

“…and ride donkeys, and go skydiving, and there’s the cutest little whale watching boat!” Garcia was gushing, wearing the most ridiculous Hawaiian shirt over her usual pink attire.

“Skydiving?” Spencer echoed. “Do you know how many skydiving related deaths there are per year?”

“Relax pretty boy.” Morgan smiled, arriving at the door wearing a matching yellow shirt. “We’ve got one for you too.” He said, handing Spencer one of the ridiculous shirts.

  
He stared at the shirt for a long moment before looking up. “You do know Cabo is not in Hawaii, right?”

Everyone let out a laugh, but Spencer wasn’t sure why. “We’ve gotta get to the airport.” Morgan said, after checking the time on his phone.

“Alright I just need to say goodbye to Aaron.” Spencer nodded. The other two agents nodded and made their way back to the car after saying a quick goodbye to their boss.

“If I die while on this vacation of nightmares I want to be buried in Las Vegas.” He said in a serious tone.

“You won’t die.” Hotch chuckled. “It will be fun. Just try to relax and don’t do anything Morgan dares you to do.”

“Okay.” Spencer smiled. “I’ll miss you.” He said, looking up with sad eyes.

“I’ll miss you too love.” Aaron replied. “It’s only a couple of days. And I’ll call you every night.” He said before stepping forward and pulling Spencer into a kiss.

It was short a sweet and the perfect way to say goodbye.

“If I don’t answer my phone it means the donkeys stampeded me.” Spencer said once they pulled away.

  
“You will be fine! Get going, have fun!” Hotch said, opening the door again and handing the teen his suitcase.

“Okay okay.” Reid smiled, exiting the house. “love you!!” He called out.

“Love you too!” Hotch smiled.

This trip was a good thing. It would give Spencer a chance to be a teen, have some fun, and get some more independence. It was good.

If it was such a good thing, then why did Spencer have such a bad feeling about it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LMK what you think!!!


	20. Chapter 20

“I’ve got another one for you.” The bartender said, setting down another drink in front of Morgan. “From that group of ladies over there.”

Morgan looked over to the group and gave them a smile.

“How many people are going to buy you drinks?” Spencer asked, looking up from his book. Yes, Spencer was reading a book in a packed beach bar in Cabo.

“Don’t complain. As long as he keeps flaunting that chocolate size pack we keep going free alcohol.” Garcia laughed, taking one of the dozen drinks on the table and taking a sip.

“You. You are getting free alcohol.” Spencer corrected, motioning to his lemonade.

“Come on Spence! It’s our last night in Mexico! Just have a little.” Penelope smiled. She was already quite drunk.

“Only if you want to kid.” Morgan said. He was drunk too but he could hold his liquor quite well and didn’t want Hotch’s death threats. Again.

“Well…maybe just one drink.” Reid said, eyeing one of the fruity looking drinks. It was legal here and he figured one drink wouldn’t hurt. He was trying to be a normal teen after all. He should end the trip with a bang. He reached out and tentatively took a sip and could already feel himself beginning to loosen up.

“Now we’ve got a party!” Garcia laughed, clapping her hands.

“Come on let’s go dance” Morgan said, standing up. “Let’s go dance!”

“I’m in!” the blonde woman jumped to her feet.

“I’m good. I’ll wait here.” Spencer said, taking another drink.

“You sure?”

“Yeah, I’m good.” Reid nodded.

“Don’t get into any trouble!” Morgan shot him a smile as he and Garcia were whisked away into the group of griding and dancing people.

Spencer watched them with a fond smile. Sometimes he felt like he was more mature than the two older agents. He sucked the last of his drink out of his straw and moved on to another. This one tasted a bit stronger, but he didn’t mind. He turned back to his book.

“What are you reading.” A voice from behind him asked. Spencer jumped a bit with a start and turned to see a man in dark jeans and a formfitting V-neck. He was about 40 and looked a bit out of place at the bar, as if he had been dragged there like Spencer.

“M-me? It’s a b-book on the economic status in Puerto Rico.” He said, holding up the text.

“Looks interesting.” He spoke. He moved closer to Spencer, taking the seat Morgan had vacated without being asked. Now that he could get a closer look, he sort of resembled Hotch, in looks not manner.

“What’s your name.”

“Spencer.” Reid replied. Had he not been drinking he might have been more cautious in who he gave his name to but he was a bit fuzzy currently.

“I’m Agent Ryan Todd.” He said, sticking out his hand to shake.

Spencer declined the hand and offered a small wave. “Agent?” He asked.

“Yeah, I’m in the FBI.” He said, with a cocky smile.

“Where are you working currently?” Spencer asked. Maybe they worked together!

“I’m working in the field office in DC.” He replied.

Spencer frowned. There wasn’t an office in DC. Quantico was close enough. It suddenly hit him. He blamed the alcohol for not catching on sooner. The man was lying.

“Can I see your badge?” He said, with a sweet smile.

“I’m sorry but that’s classified.” He said.

Spencer practically had to cover his mouth to keep from laughing. “Please?” He asked, giving his best puppy dog eyes.

“I wish I could but its-”

“Classified” Spencer finished. “Well tell me Ryan,” He said, reaching into his pocket and fishing out his wallet. “Does it look anything like this?” He flipped over the leather object to reveal his blue FBI badge.

“Shit.” The man said, turning pale. “Of all the people I could have lied to it ended up being a real FBI agent” He said, running a hand over his face.

Spencer couldn’t contain his laugh this time. He giggled and took another sip of his drink.

“I’m sorry I just wanted to impress a gorgeous guy like you.”

Spencer’s laughed quickly turned to coughing as he inhales sharply and ended up choaking on his drink.

“You don’t look old enough to be in the FBI anyway.” Ryan said Reid’s least favorite sentence in existence.

“Yeah, well I am.” He replied, sounding more like a defensive toddler than an adult.

“Anyway, what brings you to Cabo.” Ryan said, he scooted his chair a bit closer to Spencer, so their shoulders were brushing.

\--

“And then Walt rolled all over the mud!” Spencer finished his story, practically in tears from laughing.

“And Walt is a dog right.” Ryan asked. He pushed another drink closer to Spencer and the teen took it.

“Right!” Spencer replied. He was completely wasted at this point. He was so drunk that he didn’t notice the several advances his new “friend” made at him. The man then placed a hand on Spencer’s thigh and leaned in. 

“Why don’t we head up to my room for a bit?”

Spencer though about it for a second. He was tired and many he could take a nap. Going to a hotel room with a stranger who had been hitting on his made perfect sense to drunk Spencer.

“Ok but I just want to take a nap and call my boyfriend.” He nodded, slurring his words.

“You’ve got a boyfriend?” Ryan asked, helping Spencer to his feet. “I’ve got a wife.”

“You’ve also gotten yourself in big trouble.” Came voice from behind them. Morgan, as if on cue, appeared out of nowhere, pulling Spencer away from the older man.

“’was gonna t-take a nap.” Spencer yawned.

“You really are scum. You come here to cheat on your wife, get teenagers drunk, the lure them into your hotel?” Morgan was mad.

“Let’s get you into bed sweety. Your bed.” Garcia said, guiding Spencer out of the bar and into the main part of the hotel.

“Wanna call Hotch.” Spencer mumbled

“Alright but don’t be surprised if bossman gets upset about your state of intoxication.” Garcia nodded, handing her phone to Spencer.

The teen pressed call and waited until he heard the voice of his boyfriend. “Hello?”

“Aaron!” He said, a smile filling his face.

“Hey love, how are you doing tonight.”

“I met a fake FBI agent who tried to take a nap with me.” Spencer slurred.

“He what? Spencer are you drunk?” Hotch asked, alarmed. “Where is Morgan?”

“He’s beating up the fake FBI agent.” Reid replied

There was a pause of silence before Spencer heard a chuckle from the other line. “Good. You’re okay right.”

“Yuppers.” He nodded, saying the very un-Spencer-like phrase. “I miss you though.”

“I miss you too Spence. Walt does as well. He keeps looking out the window to see if you are coming home.”

“Give him a hug for me! And give a hug to Aaron. Which is you!” He giggled again.

“Alright well it sounds like you need to get to bed. I’ll see you tomorrow once you land. I love you.”

“Love you too!”

\---

Hotch hung up the phone with a sigh. He was glad that the teen was finally having some fun but why couldn’t men just leave him alone? Why were they all over him? Hotch supposed he wasn’t really one to talk though considering he was so much older as well.

He set his phone down on the table and walked over to the small bar he had set up. He missed Spencer a lot. He poured himself a glass of scotch and let out a content sigh. Everything was fine. Spencer was safe with Morgan. So why did he feel like something was wrong.

But he was fine. He was alone in the house. Right?

“Hello Agent Hotchner.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LMK what you think!!


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: blood and animal death

“Drive faster Morgan.” Spencer urged from the back seat.

“I’m going as fast as I can, I have a date to get to.” Derek said from the driver’s seat. He was currently driving them home from the airport. They had just dropped Garcia at her house and were on the way to the Reid-Hotchner residence.

“Damn it, my phone died.” Spencer said, looking at the blank screen. “Can I borrow yours to call Aaron?”

“How many times have you called him in the last hour?” Morgan laughed at the frazzled teen. He was confident their boss was fine. Sure, he forgot to call Spencer in the morning like he had promised but there was probably a more than reasonable explanation. He had probably slept late or maybe his phone died; Spencer just worried too much.

The rest of the short ride home was filled with the sound Hotch’s voicemail and Spencer’s worried muttering.

“Do you want me to walk you to the door?” Morgan asked after pulling up in front of the house. The car had barely stopped before Reid was hopping out of the car and grabbing his suitcase.

“I’ll be alright.” Spencer said before thanking Morgan yet again for the trip and closing the car door. He heard the truck pull away from the house as he made his way up the steps. He knew something was wrong. He wasn’t sure how he knew, but he did.

He hurried to pull out his key and unlock the door. It felt like he was entering a crime scene rather than his own home. It didn’t sit right with him.

“Hello?” He called out, setting his bags on the ground and reaching for an umbrella that was hanging by the door as a weapon.

“A-Aaron?” He called, voice wavering a bit. “Aaron are y-you here?”

He was met with silence. Silence. That was what was weird. Where was Walt?

  
“Walt?” He called. “C-come here boy?” Spencer made his way further into the house, flicking on lights as he got to them. Why had they all been off in the first place?

“Aaron where-” Spencer started but froze the second he turned on the living room light.

Typically, the living room was clean. It was not anything fancy or particular modern, but it was classic and tidy like Hotch. There was a white carpet and wooden table and matching chairs.

Now, the normally pure décor was scattered in a sick shade of scarlet. There was a circle of red in the center larger than a person, like someone had been dragged in a pool of their own blood.

Spencer couldn’t move. It wasn’t like any crime scene he had ever seen before. It was his boyfriend’s blood. There was no other explanation. It had to be Aaron’s blood. His Aaron. But where was the body.

  
It was that thought the sparked the teen back into action. He needed to fine him. He could be alive. Spencer was careful not to step on the blood but followed the trail through the house. His vision was blurry, and he wasn’t sure why until he felt the tears dripping down his cheeks.

He frantically made his way through the house, feeling sick at the amount of blood on the floor. That didn’t bode well for Aaron. He tried to run statistics of blood loss through his head, but he couldn’t remember anything. His mind was blank. He was like a hunting dog who could only follow a trail.

He grabbed one of their home phones off a table and eventually made it into the back yard. He threw open the doors and looked around. The trail went blank, there was not blood visible in the grass. He needed a new plan. He needed to call someone. Morgan, JJ, someone.

He couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t see. He felt like he was going to pass out.

That was until he turned to his left and saw a lump on the ground. It was in the shadow of the house so he couldn’t quite make out what or, god forbid, who it was.

He quickly ran over to the figure, dialing the first number he could think of, which happened to be Morgan’s, as he ran. He felt himself becoming more lightheaded.

Once he finally made it to the lump, he realized it was too small to belong to Hotch. He rolled it over to face him. The sight of Walt’s lifeless eyes and blood covered body was the final straw as he fell into darkness.

\---

Spencer’s eyes fluttered open before he quickly squeezed them shut. Everything was too bright.

“You nearly scared me to death pretty boy.”

Spencer turned his head to the left and managed to open his eyes again. He was met with the sight of Morgan sitting in a stiff hospital chair.

“I got your call, but you didn’t say anything. I drove back only to find the house covered in blood and you passed out in the back yard.”

Spencer still didn’t speak. He felt like his brain was slower than normal, like it was buffering.

“Doc said you had a panic attack but kept trying to push through it. You eventually passed out from lack of oxygen.” Derek continued.

“A-Aaron?” Spencer finally managed to get out. The last couple hours were still blurry but he knew his boyfriend was not by his side in the hospital and that meant nothing good.

“You need to get some more rest. We can talk about Hotch after you’ve slept some more.” Morgan said. Maybe it was selfish of him, but Morgan just couldn’t be the one to deliver the news. He couldn’t devastate the teen for the hundredth time in his short life.

“P-please. I need to k-know.” Spencer pleaded, though he felt his eyelids beginning to droop with sleep.

“Sleep kid.” Morgan said with a sad smile.

“A-Aaron” Spencer tried to call out again but was once again pulled into darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Much more angst to come! LMK what you think!!
> 
> Sorry about Walt ☹️


	22. Chapter 22

The next time Spencer woke up, he remembered everything. He remembered Mexico, Hotch not returning his calls, and coming home to find the house covered in blood.

He opened his eyes and immediately tried to sit up. He needed to find Hotch.

“Whoa whoa whoa Pretty Boy.” Came the voice of Morgan who had yet to leave his side. He gentry reached out and prevented Spencer from climbing out of the bed. “Be careful, you’re still hooked up to an IV.”

“I’m fine. I’m fine. Where is Hotch?” He asked, trying to shake his friend off and stand up. Unfortunately, Morgan was stronger than him and there was no way he was getting up without the permission of the older man.

“He’s stable. Take a deep breath.”

“I am breathing! Please Morgan! What happened.” Spencer asked, pleading eyes piercing the other agent’s soul.

“I’ll tell you just please breath kid, that’s why you passed out in the first place.” Derek said.

Spencer wanted to fight him, wanted to run out of the room and find Aaron, but Morgan had the information he needed. So he forced himself to take a deep breath and calm down.

“Are you alright?”

“I am physically fine at the moment.” Spencer replied. His brain was far from calm but he was as good as it was going to get at present.

“Foyet broke into the house.” Morgan started.

Spencer’s blood felt think in his veins. The very action of letting his heartbeat made his head pound. He had suspected the Reaper might have something to do with it but hadn’t known for sure.

“He stabbed Hotch several times, all in non-lethal positions. He brought Hotch to the hospital and they checked him in as a John Doe, that’s why we were not notified. He is stable and will recover.” Morgan finished, making sure to emphasize that their boss would live, he knew how Spencer’s mind could automatically jump to the worst-case scenario.

“He’s here? In the hospital?” Spencer said, trying to sit up off his own hospital bed. This time Morgan didn’t stop him. Instead, he reached out a hand to help steady the genius as he got to his feet.

“Yes, and you can see him. You just need to sign some paperwork and get dressed first.”

“I need to see him now Morgan!” Spencer shook his head like a toddler throwing a tantrum.

“Spence there are protocols-”

“I need to see Aaron.”

Morgan’s internal conflict was evident on his face. In the end, he nodded, deciding to go along with Reid’s need to ‘break out’ of his hospital room. “Alright, I’ll tell the nurses where you went when they come back.” Morgan said. He took off his zip up hoodie and handed it to Spencer to put on over his hospital robe. Spencer managed to correctly pull his IV out of his arm before exiting the room, and making his way towards room number 614, where he had been told his boyfriend was.

He finally made it to the door and took a deep breath before pressing it open. Inside was not the Hotch he knew. It was a shadow of his boyfriend. Even in his state of sleep, he looked determined, but his set jaw was not as prevalent due to the paleness of his skin.

Spencer slowly made his way into the room. He didn’t know what to do. He didn’t know if the man was unconscious or just sleeping. He wanted to hug him, kiss him, tell him it would be okay, but he couldn’t move. He just sat in the stiff chair next to the man he loved.

This was his fault. Spencer felt tears coming to his eyes as he looked at the floor. He never should have gone too Mexico and left Aaron alone. He should have been more helpful when Hotch had been tracking the reaper. He should have done so much more but he didn’t, and his boyfriend had almost died. And it was his fault 

“Spencer?”

Reid’s eyes immediately shot up at the sound of his name coming from Aaron’s lips. He quickly wiped his tears out of his eyes as best he could. “A-Aaron? How are you feeling?” He asked, scooting his chair closer to the bed.

“I’ve been better.” He replied with a weak smile.

“I’m s-sorry. I should have b-been there w-with you.” Spencer burst out, tears breaking free yet again. God he was pathetic. He couldn’t even keep from crying for five minutes.

“Hey, none of that.” Hotch replied. He summoned his strength and reached his hand over to take Spencer’s in his. “It’s not your fault.”

“I could have stayed h-home. I could have f-fought him off.” Spencer insisted.

Hotch knew he should refrain from movement, but he couldn’t help himself. He managed to scoot over to the right then patted the empty space next to him, signaling for Spencer to join him in the bed. Reid did just that, scrambling to curl up at the man’s side and be as close as possible. Hotch wrapped his arm around the teen, grateful Reid was so small of they wouldn’t have been able to fit on the hospital cot.

“It’s not your fault. We are going to get through this together. Everything is fine. I love you.” Hotch listed off every reassuring phrase he could think of, pressing a kiss to Spencer’s temple.

“Are you in a lot of pain?” the younger man changed the subject.

“Nothing too bad. They’ve got me on a lot of medication.” Aaron replied. His voice was notably strained and as tired as he looked.

“What kind of-”

“Not dilaudid or anything. Don’t worry about me.” Hotch smiled sadly.

“I think I’m allowed to worry about you when you’ve been stabbed.” Spencer huffed.

“Speaking of worrying, why are you in a hospital gown.” Hotch asked, voice becoming more tired with every minute.

“I passed out.” He replied. After a second of silence, he said softly, “He killed Walt.”

Hotch had never been good at this kind of stuff. He had gotten better with emotions when he and Spencer had gotten together but he still didn’t know how to handle loss.

He did the only thing he could do. He pulled Spencer even closer to him, wiped away his tears, and they offered each other words of love until they drifted off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!! Lmk if there are any tags of TW that you think I should add. Some people had mentioned ones that were missing and I want to make sure I have everything covered so no one gets hurt!! 
> 
> also im sorry about Walt!! Everyone seemed super mad about that. Since haley isn't in this fic I needed other ways to advance the story. 
> 
> Thanks for reading!! LMK what you think!!


	23. Chapter 23

“No. Nope. No way. Not a chance.”

“Spencer-”

“I won’t. Not happening.” Spencer continued to regurgitate phrases for refusal from the thesaurus.

“Come on kid-”

“Absolutely not. By no means. Not on your nelly.”

“Not on your nelly?” Hotch echoed back, amused.

“British origin. Informal. Means certainly not.” Spencer recited.

“Can we get Spencer back for a second and not Dr. Dictionary?” Morgan asked.

The three agents were currently sitting in Derek’s living room. It had been a week since the attack on Hotch and Aaron had been discharged from the hospital one day before. He had been cleared to leave but was still not allowed to work and had to spend most of the day sitting. Morgan had offered him and Spencer the guest room in his house which they had gladly accepted. Neither were eager to go back to the scene of the crime.

“I’m not doing it.” Spencer said stubbornly. “That is absolutely ridiculous. There is no need for me to go into the witness protection program.”

“It would just be until we caught Foyet-” Hotch tried to persuade him but the teen was having none of it.

“I’m a trained FBI agent. I’m currently staying with two other even better trained agents. I am perfectly safe here.” Reid continued. He sat back in his seat on the couch with a huff. “Plus there is no evidence that Foyet is even after me.”

At that, Morgan and Hotch exchanged a look. They seemed to have some sort of silent conversation together that Spencer couldn’t quite figure out.

“What?” Spencer asked.

“I’m going to order us some lunch.” Morgan said before standing up and walking into the kitchen.

“What?” He repeated.

“You know how the Reaper would always leave and take something from the victims?” Hotch asked carefully. He took Spencer’s hand in his to offer so form of comfort.

“Did he leave you Morgan’s credentials?” Spencer guessed. He remembered the other agent being upset about them being taken from him.

“Yeah, but that’s not the issue. It’s what he took.”

“W-What did he take?” Spencer asked, not sure he wanted to hear the answer.

“He took the picture of us I keep on my desk at home. The one from you’re 18th birthday?” Spencer nodded and smiled fondly. It had been a picture of Hotch, Gideon, and Spencer, the only one he had of his three mentors. Well…it probably wasn’t appropriate to call Hotch a mentor given that they slept in the same bed.

“He took the picture?” Spencer guessed.

“He took part of the picture.” Hotch said, pulling out his phone and opening his messages. Prentiss, Rossi, and JJ had worked the case and sent him all the evidence they found. He finally found the photo and clicked on it before handing his phone over to Spencer.

  
Reid looked down and understood why. The phone showed a picture of a frame that had been shattered. The photo that had been inside of his was ripped in two. The side remaining was of Hotch and Gideon and the side with Spencer was nowhere to be scene.

He looked up at Hotch. “He’s g-going to kill me?”

“No.” Aaron said firmly, squeezing his hand. “There is no scenario that ends with you dead. That’s not even an option. Not on your nelly.” He repeated the phrase Spencer had used minutes before, making the younger man smile a bit.

“I would still be safe with you though. He doesn’t want you dead. He wants you to lose everything so if you are safe, then I am safe with you.” Spencer tried to reason btu even he knew his logic was flawed.

“How many times have you gotten hurt in the field?” Hotch asked.

“Once or twice.” Spencer mumbled, a blush coming to his face.

“It’s a bit more than that love. I was the one who had to fill out the incident reports.” Hotch chuckled. “And how many times have you been kidnapped?”

“Only once.” Spencer said, as though that was an accomplishment.

“That is one time too many.” Hotch replied. “You have a knack for getting hurt. It’s not your fault but its true. I would not be a good boyfriend, or even a good boss, if I let you stay in a situation where you could get hurt. You cannot ask that of me.”

“I know.” Spencer nodded, instantly feeling guilty. He didn’t think of how much stress he much cause Hotch. He did get in trouble quite often after all.

“I think this would be best for both of us. Some space.”

“Wait!” Spencer interrupted, eye snapping up. “You aren’t breaking up with me, are you?”

“No! Jesus no Spence. I mean physical space. Keep you away from a serial killer space.” Hotch quickly back tracked.

“O-oh okay. Good.” Spencer nodded.

“It will be alright. I have already talked to people in witness protection and gotten you a team of people I trust fully. I am not allowed to know where you are going to be living but from what I heard you will be put in a fake family of agents. You will get to have a senior year of high school too.” Hotch said, trying to make it sound more exciting.

“I already had a senior year.” Reid pointed out.

“Yeah, but you were 10.” Hotch laughed. “You will get to make some friends your age, ace your classes, go to prom.” Hotch said, raising his eyebrows suggestively at the last thing and earning a playful swat from the teen.

“I don’t want to go to prom without you.” Spencer replied.

“That’s unfortunate because I don’t think a public high school is going to let a student go to prom with a 40-year-old man.”

“I suppose you’re right.” Spencer nodded. They fell into a comfortable silence, both beginning to accept the fact that they would be forced to spend the next couple months, if not longer, apart.

“I’m guessing I won’t get a phone or anything to talk to you with?” Spencer asked eventually.

“No, but we can write letters. Give them to your agents when they go home for breaks or something.” Aaron suggested. “And we will catch Foyet before you know it.”

“Alright.” Spencer nodded. “But you have to promise me to stay safe. Don’t go doing anything stupid.”

“That’s not saying much coming from you.” Hotch chuckled.

“Hey! I’m a certified genius!” Spencer said defensively.

“Yes, but it takes you twenty minutes to parallel park.” Hotch remined making the teen blush.

“That’s different than being smart.” He tried to defend himself, but they were interrupted by Morgan entering with their dinner before they could argue any further.

  
Spencer tried to enjoy the time with his best friend and boyfriend the best he could. He didn’t know how long it would be before they could all be together again, but he was guessing it wouldn’t be for a while. He had just found a family and he was about to lose it again. It wasn’t fair.

Nothing was fair for Spencer Reid.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's another chapter for y'all because I'm bored!! Thanks for reading!! LMK what you think!!


	24. Chapter 24

“Come out love.” Hotch called out.

“I look like an idiot.” Spencer replied from his spot lock in the bathroom.

“Come on kid, it’s not that bad.” Morgan said though he was biting back a smile.

“Why’d they have to take my hair?” Spencer grumbled.

“I’m sure you look great. Or you at least look like a normal teenager.” Aaron said. “Now come out please?”

They heard the angry mumbles from inside the bathroom before the lock finally clicked open.

“Don’t laugh” Reid said softly as he made his way into the larger room. He no longer looked like Dr. Reid the FBI agent. He looked like Spencer. An average teenager. His long hair had been cut to a shorter style that reminded Hotch of boybands he had seen. His clothes were not professional and pressed. Instead, he was dressed in blue jeans, a white t-shirt with an adidas logo and a black zip up hoodie hanging loosely over the top.

“Hi. I’m Spencer Walter. Just an average teenager with a love of sports games.” Spencer introduced himself. He had been allowed to keep his first name as using a different name could lead to confusion. He had chosen his new last name to be Walter to honor his friend.

“You look good.” Hotch said, looking him up and down. “Very young but that’s a good thing given the circumstances.” Aaron leaning against the wall as he spoke. He still didn’t have his normal strength and couldn’t stand for long periods of time.

“I look stupid.” Reid grumbled. He ran a hand through his now short hair.

“You kinda look like Peter Parker.” Morgan said, amusement clear in his voice.

“He’s basically Spiderman.” Hotch nodded. “A superhero FBI agent going under cover as a normal kid.”

“I know you’re trying to make this fun but it’s not working.” Spencer said, walking over to the couch and collapsing tiredly. He had been counting down the hours in his head. He had 3 hours, 28 minutes, and 12 seconds because Agent Samson, or Spencer’s new “dad”, was going to be there to pick him up.

“I know. I’m sorry.” Hotch said, sitting gently next to the teen. Morgan took that moment to excuse himself and give the couple some alone time.

“I want to stay here.” Spencer said for the hundredth time.

“I know love. But I need you to be safe. That’s my top priority.” Hotch pulled Spencer into his lap so they were looking at each other. “Don’t think of this as something bad. I know it’s hard but try to look at this as an opportunity.”

“I hated high school. Do you know how much I was bullied?”

“I was bullied too.” Aaron said softly. He didn’t often talk about his childhood. It had not been a particularly happy one.

“You were? I thought you were some big football star! I’ve seen the trophies.” Spencer cocked his head to the side in confusion.

“I was.” Hotch chuckled. “But I was also in the school musical.” He said.

Spencer couldn’t help but let out a giggle. The thought of his big strong boyfriend on stage dancing around was quite funny to him.

“You can laugh. I was terrible.” Hotch smiled. “But the reason I did it was to impress my then girlfriend. I wanted to spend time with her, so I accepted the bullying from my teammates to be closer to Haley.”

Spencer tried to hide the sour look that appeared on his face at the mention of his ex-wide. Hotch pulled him closer to offer reassurance.

“It may not be to the scale of your current situation, but I do know what it’s like to be bullied for someone you care about. I know it’s hard. But I know you are strong. I will write you letters day.”

“But Agent Samson said he could only deliver them once a month.”

“Then he can deliver all my daily letters at once. You’ll hear about my previous month.” Hotch replied. “Problem solved.”

“Alright.” Spencer nodded. “I wish we could just call.”

“But you know that we can’t.”

“I know.” Spencer nodded.

Morgan eventually came back with copious amounts of food, all Spencer’s favorites. Spencer couldn’t help but feel like an animal being put down. They were doing all his favorite things then he would be forced to leave. He tried not to think about everything he would be missing as he cuddled up close to his boyfriend and watched and episode of Space Trek he had seen a hundred times before.

It was a perfect little bubble of happiness that he knew would be popped soon enough.

That time came sooner than he had thought. It felt like it had only been five minutes when the doorbell rang, signaling that Agent Right had arrived. She would be driving Spencer to an undisclosed location to meet his “family” and drive to their new “home.”

“I’ll get it.” Morgan said, exiting the room.

  
Spencer and Hotch disentangled themselves from each other and stood up as well.

“So, this is it.” Spencer said eventually. It was like some cheesy rom-com. He knew (or at least hoped) they would see each other again but they still had to say goodbye.

“I told the agents who bought your things for your new home what you liked. There’ll be a surprise when you get there.” Hotch said.

“It’s not my new home.” Reid said firmly. “It’s where I’m living but not my home.”

Hotch nodded, he understood. “I’ll miss you.” Aaron said, looking down at the teen.

“I’ll miss you more.”

Aaron let out a small chuckled before pulling Reid into a soft kiss. Spencer stood up on his tiptoes to reach the man’s lips. He felt tears running down his face, but he didn’t care. He loved this man hand wanted to show him.

They eventually pulled away and Spencer felt like he was missing a part of him. Like one of his limbs that was always there had been taken away.

“Stay safe Spencer Walter.”

“You too Agent Hotchner.” Reid smiled through his tears.

They silently made their way to the door where Spencer exchanged a quick goodbye with Morgan before following Agent Right out the door and to the stealthy car they had chosen which was a minivan.

Right before he got in the car, Spencer looked back to the two agents who were standing in the doorway. He gave a small wave before disappearing into the car.

It was only once the car was out of sight that Hotch finally let his tears fall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LMK what you think!!


	25. Chapter 25

The ride to his new “home” was long. Longer than any car ride he had ever been on before. He had tried talking to the two agents that would be playing he parents, but they were too busy making sure they weren’t being tailed and taking unnecessary turns to looks cars they deemed “suspicious.”

In the end, it took them about eight hours to get to Auburn New York. Spencer hated the neighborhood they second, they drove up. It was a large, gated community; the type of place where every house looked the same and there was a distinct lack of diversity. He hated the dull white and brown colors of the houses he passed, and he hated the large high school he saw out of his window. He had a sinking suspicion that the large brick building would come to be his new hell.

They eventually pulled up to a two-story house. The black minivan they had been driving in really pulled together the look of the basic suburban family.

“Spencer, Uncle John arraigned a surprise for you. It’s inside.” Agent Blake, or Spencer’s new “mother” said as they exited the car and walked up the front steps. They didn’t have any bags with them, their stuff had been delivered already.

“What is it?” Spencer asked, smiling at the name Uncle John. That had been their code name for Hotch.

“You’ll have to see.” She smiled. Spencer liked Agent Blake. He had found it very awkward calling her mom so far, but she was nice. And very smart as well. He had learned she had worked in the BAU at one point in her career. He didn’t car for his “dad” as much. His name was Agent Right. He seemed like this was the last place he wanted to be, and Reid couldn’t blame him. It was the last place he wanted to be as well.

They opened the door and Spencer’s ears were immediately met with the sound a barking. There was a smile on his face before the fluffy creature even turned the corner. He fell down to his knees as the black and white dog flew into his arms, licking his face.

“This is Rosey.” Alex said. “She is a two-year-old border collie. She was in training to be a police dog but didn’t pass her test because she was too nice.”

Spencer’s smile got even wider. “Border collies are often considered one of the smartest dog breeds.”

“I think that’s why Uncle John picked her.” Alex smiled again as she moved further into the house. “I was also told to tell you to guess who she is named after.”

“Rosalind Franklin.” Spencer said instantly. “She was a chemist who worked with DNA and had a lot of her research stolen. I made Aaro- I mean John watch a documentary on her a couple months ago.”

“Why don’t you head up to your room while Agent Blake and I go though some of our security plans.” Agent Right said, stepping into the room with a large folder.

“Can I hear the plans as well.” Spencer asked, standing up after petting Rosey on the head a final time.

“No. Your only job is to act like a kid. Let the adults worry about this.” Right said in a way that could have come off as a joke had someone else said it but Spencer had the feeling he was being completely serious.

“I am 18. And an FBI agent. I want to know about-”

“Spencer just let me do my job.” He said, tone firm. Spencer decided in that moment that he didn’t like Agent Right.

“Yes sir.” Spencer mumbled. The man technically outranked him in the FBI.

“That’s not my name.” The man replied.

  
“Yes…dad.” Spencer said hating the way the words sounded in his mouth.

He then turned on the heal of the stupid vans he had been forced to wear and ran up the stairs to where he had been told his room would be, Rosey at his heals.

The hallway was filled with pictured of him, Blake, and Right. Somewhere just solo shots of them growing up but some were skillfully photoshopped to look like family pictures. Had Spencer not been one of the ones in the pictures, he would have believed they were real.

His room looked like a every angsty teen movie. The walls were littered with posters of bands and cars. The clothes in his closet were all jeans, t-shirts, and hoodies. There was not a single book to be seen besides a few magazines on the bed and three textbooks on his desk. The carpet and bed were a dark red color, and the walls were a light blue. Everything clashed terribly. He hated it.

Reid walked over to the only thing in the room that didn’t make him feel like he wanted to barf, the desk. There was a white piece of paper placed on it that Spencer recognized as a school schedule. He looked it over and saw classes that he had passed but the age of 9. The only somewhat interesting class was the only AP on the list, AP Chem.

He set the small backpack that he had been allowed to bring with him on the bed and pulled out his personal items. There was a notebook full of paper that he would use to write his letters. There was a leather copy of the Count of Monte Cristo that he had had since he was a child. He brought one of Hotch’s dark blue ties with him and finally a picture of him and Aaron.

He looked down at the picture. It was from Aaron’s birthday. They both looked so happy. Spencer felt tears beginning to pool in his eyes. They had only been apart for a couple of hours and he already missed the man with his whole heart.

He didn’t know how he was going to make it through all of this. But he needed to keep Aaron safe. If Foyet was going after Reid, he would be sure to stay far away from his boyfriend. He didn’t want to risk the man’s safety.

He wiped away the tears on his cheeks and took out a few sheets of paper and sat at the desk.

_Dear Uncle John,_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long! Lmk what you think!!


	26. Chapter 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everything in italics is what Spencer is writing in his letter

_Dear Uncle John,_

_I know I don’t have to call you that in these letters, but I figured it was best to get used to it now. I am officially living my life as Spencer Walter. I hate nearly everything about it. The three things bringing me joy are Agent Blake (mom), Rosey, and AP Chem. The joy I find is minimal considering the horrors I have had to endure today, high school._

\---

“We have about 900 students here at Auburn High.” The disinterested guidance counselor drowned on as she led Spencer through the bustling hall of cursing idiots. “I see you have a standard schedule with…AP Chemistry? Is that correct?”

“Y-yes mam.” Spencer nodded his head. He clutched his dark black backpack closer to him. He really missed his soft leather satchel. It was the perfect book bag! It could carry hundreds of things and look sophisticated at the same time. Unfortunately, it did not go with the basic teenage look he was being forced to hide in.

“Are you sure you want to take that class? I saw your previous transcripts and… well honey I don’t think you are smart enough.” She said with a fake smile.

Spencer hated her.

“I w-would like to stay in the c-class if that’s alright.” He said, eyes still fixed on the floor.

“Alright. You can always transfer when it gets to hard.” She replied. “This is your first class, English 10.”

“I’m in 12th grade.” Spencer said, looking up.

“Yes, but you had an F in English last year. Now get going.” She said, placing a hand on Spencer’s shoulder and nudging him towards the door. Reid did his best not to flinch at the contact, but it didn’t work. He stumbled into the loud room of chaos.

He kept his head down, not wanting to draw attention to himself. He dragged his feet covered in his stupid vans to the back of the room and took an open seat. He finally allowed himself to let out a breath. That morning had been stressful.

He didn’t get a chance to self-reflect because a large teen wearing a football jersey over his sweatshirt came up to him.

“You’re in my seat.” He said. Spencer didn’t have time to apologies or even to move before the guy sent all of Spencer’s things flying off the table and onto the floor. “Move it shorty.”

“S-sorry.” Spencer replied, quickly gathering his stuff off the floor and scrambling to a desk across the room. Realistically he knew it wasn’t his fault and that he shouldn’t have apologized. He was an FBI agent for god’s sake. No. He wasn’t and FBI agent. He was just Spencer.

\---

_Like I said, school is terribly boring. The things they teach I have already known since I was 5. In Chem today we learned about electron orbits. I gave a lecture at Harvard about orbitals two months ago. I have managed to make some friends. I met a nice guy named Evan._

\---

“You think you’re smart or something you shit!” Evan shouted, slamming Spencer a third time against the locker, attempting to trap him completely in the metal opening.

“I’m s-sorry!” Spencer tried to defend himself. He had learned to fight from Morgan and Hotch, two of the best Agents in the FBI. He should be able to hold his own. Unfortunately, the three large bullies overpowered him.

“You’re sorry? You’re sorry?! Maybe you should have thought of that before you answered every question in class!” Another punch.

“You made everyone look like idiots!” One of Evan’s friends called out from where he was watching a few feet away. There were actually several people watching, even a few teachers. None of them seemed to care about Spencer.

“You don’t n-need my help to l-look like an idiot.” Spencer knew it was dumb, but he couldn’t help himself from making the remark. He was punished with another strike to his jaw.

They finally managed to jam him into the small locker before slamming the door closed and walking away laughing at him.

Spencer fought his hardest to keep the tears from falling down his cheeks, but sometimes trying isn’t enough. He sat for over an hour in that locker until a janitor came across him while sweeping the floors.

\---

_People my own age are so immature. I honestly don’t know how you can stand to be with me. Everyone is so loud and obnoxious. I like to think I am more reserved._

_I miss you terribly. I know I’ve only been gone for three days but I think of you every day. There isn’t a second that passes that you don’t live with in my cluttered mind. I have never been an outwardly sentimental person, but I can’t help myself._

_I love you._

_So much. And I miss you. There isn’t any other person on this earth I would leave my job and home to save but keeping Foyet away from you is more than worth it._

_How have you been? Have you had any cases yet? Tell me all about them. I miss hunting serial killers with you._

_I know you won’t get my letters for a month but I will continue to write to you every day._

_I love you._

_Stay safe._

_Spencer_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!!


	27. Chapter 27

_Spencer Walters,_

_I just received every letter you wrote in the past month. It doesn’t feel like it’s been a month though. It feels so much longer. I don’t know how I even managed to live such a boring life before I met you._

_I’m glad school is going well for you. I knew you would make some friends! Who wouldn’t want to be around someone as perfect as you? I’m sure you are the smartest kid in all of your classes through it must be hard not to show it. You probably don’t want everyone finding out you are a genius just yet._

_I have been doing well. I try to keep myself as busy as I can. Morgan and I have been training together in the FBI gyms lately. I’m still trying to recover from the stabbings, but I am doing much better. I’ve managed to pin Morgan several times!_

_\--_

“Come on man! You can do better.” Morgan said, ducking to avoid a slow punch from Hotch.

“I need a break Morgan.” Hotch said, grabbing onto his side in pain.

“Hotch man I know you’ve been it of it lately, but you can’t give up.” Morgan said, attempting to get his boss back into their sparing match but failing. He eventually followed Aaron off to the side of the gym where they both took a seat on the folding chairs.

“What’s up man?” Morgan said, handing him a bottle of water.

“Besides the fact my 18-year-old boyfriend is undercover in some random city and being hunted by a serial killer?”

“I know. I miss him to.” Morgan nodded. “But we need to keep working. You can’t let Foyet win.”

“I was cleared by the doctors two days ago.”

“And the old Hotch wouldn’t have been waiting for a doctor’s note. You would have been in the shooting range picturing Foyet’s face on the targets from the second you stepped out of that hospital.”

“It’s hard without him.”

“I know. Trust me I miss the kid. But you can’t stop living.”

“I know.” Aaron sighed, taking a drink from the bottle. “I know.”

“You got all his letters, yesterday right? How’s he doing?”

“He said he’s doing good.” Hotch said, smiling at the memory of the pages and pages of sloppy handwriting he had received yesterday. He had ready everything in one night and re-read it again in the morning. “He said he made some friends too.” His voice was a bit tense.

“That’s good though.” Derek asked.

“Yes of course it is. I want him to be with people his own age I just…”

“Just what?”

  
“What if he likes being with one of them more than he likes being me?”

It wasn’t often his boss let himself be vulnerable in front of people. It concerned Morgan. He could tell Hotch was missing Spencer. It was obvious. He was more distracted on cases, his suits were always a bit wrinkled, and his eyes were sad. That’s why he had offered to spar with him that afternoon. To try and get his mind off things.

“Hotch, Spencer loves you. He has said it time and time again. He agreed to leave his home and job because he loves you.”

“I know. I just…I don’t know.” He admitted.

“Well lucky for you, I know what to do.” Morgan said, getting to his feet. “I’ll call the rest of the team and we will go to Rossi’s for dinner. Italian food, good wine, and friends.”

“That sounds nice.” Hotch admitted, standing up as well.

  
“That’s the spirit.”

\---

_We have had quite a few cases in the last month. Serial killers don’t seem to take a vacation. You asked me to tell you about the cases but since you are technically not part of the BAU at the moment I unfortunately cannot legally give you case information. I’m sorry. I promise to tell you everything when you get home!_

_What I can tell you though is about a moment a few weeks ago when we were working on a case in Phoenix. We always knew you were a very important member of the team but we didn’t realize just how much we needed you_

_\---_

“Morgan, you and Prentiss go interview the parents. JJ, Rossi, and I will try to get through all these diaries.” Hotch directed before sitting down at the table that was covered in about 47 leather bound journals. All were filled with the words and thoughts of a man who had killed two teenagers so far and had already abducted their third. They were trying to figure out where he could be hiding them.

“Alight, I’ll start at the beginning, Rossi start at the end and work back, and JJ start in the middle. We are looking for anything relevant to the case, any desires or locations special to him.” Hotch said, picking up a book and beginning to read through it as fast as he could.

\---

_It took us hours to get through the diaries. We eventually found out where the teens were located and managed to get them home safely, but you could have read all those books in under an hour. Your brain continues to amaze me even when you are not here._

_There was a similar situation in a later case regarding a profile._

_\---_

“He’s probably in his late twenties. White. Lower middle class.” Hotch said. The team was in a circle within a conference room in Seattle preparing a profile to deliver.

“He has access to a large van so probably does some kind of blue-collar work.” JJ added.

“Good.” Aaron nodded. “Let’s keep looking at the victimology and Reid can you-” Hotch started to say but then cut himself off. The whole room was grossly silent as they were all reminded of their missing team mate.

“Um… not Reid. Sorry.” Aaron corrected himself. “I need someone to work on the geographical profile.”

There was a continued tense silence. “Does anyone know how to do one?”

“We learned the basics of it but anything I drew up would be what we already know. Just general locations. I don’t know how the kid get so specific with his profiles.” Morgan replied, the rest of the team nodded in agreement.

“Great.” Hotch sighed. “Morgan and I will try to get one done on the map over here.” He said.

\---

_I don’t know how you do it. We couldn’t map out anything other than the general directions and locations, once again proving you are the smartest one on the team._

_We miss you. We all do. It’s not the same. The plane rides are the worst though. Everything is so quiet. You were always there to start a conversation or complain about a book you read. We miss you._

_And I miss you._

_So so so so much. I can’t wait for you to come home but I am willing to since your safety comes first. Always._

_I’m glad you like Rosey. I helped pick her out for you. Border Collies are often considered the smartest dog. Just like how you are the smarted person._

_Love you always,_

_Uncle John_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!!


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